an episode
it was a tuesday when the leg washed upon the shore. or maybe it was wednesday. no one noticed it for several days, anyway. the children that scavenged the beach for the water's remains picked the exposed bones out and went quietly on their way, leaving putrefying flesh for the gulls. a few days later a hunched form straggled by, stopping to detach the yellowed nails one by one, and after digging through layers of disheveled clothing, placed them in a pocket close to her breast. there were only three, but she'd never been able to obtain a complete set anyhow. later, when she wandered inland to escape the rising tide, she laid them out to dry on a small, flat stone she'd found while gathering trash for the fire. throughout the night she kept a close eye on her newly acquired jewels, making sure no one lunged out of the dark to seize them. moments before dawn she crouched behind the thicket, and with bare hands unearthed a small crusted metal box. after adding two to her collection, she hurriedly buried her stash, glancing franctically about for spies. the remaining nail she returned to her pocket and wadnered back down to the water.
many fridays later the lilies wilted, belching out a stagnant cry on their descent. insects swarmed a halo around the hunched crone's head and with a thud her skull was finally cracked. flies drank up the sweet smelling ooze as the man carefully inspected her clothing. her body slumped forward in the dirt, draining faster now, and he gracefully extruded a small yellowed nail, brittle with time. gently he placed it inside his hat, returned the hat to his head, and stooped to grasp the limbs of the corpse. a bloody trail leading behind the thicket came ultimately to an abrupt end . . . .
vol.1 no.3 Fall 1999
Lovely Ugly Brutal World
New regular column by AR
Neuralgia Survey
Poetry:
Entombed--Alix Caldwell
Heartland Film Noir Classic--Fetters
Retinal Fetish--AR
Salvador Dalai Lama--David Goth
Untitled--Regina
Transfuse Me--Tom Hamilton
Prose/Short Stories:
Cradle--David Canada
An Episode--A.M. Olsson