A monarch butterfly landed on the window. It moved its wings slowly, up and down, and then flew away. He moved the brush across the glass and painted another one. The texture of the butterfly wasn’t quite real, and as it flew, it altered the texture of the sky.
The shadow unzipped the center of its chest. With a hand coated in dark mud, it pulled out a still-beating mass and placed it on the table. It picked up several books to confirm the markings, then began lighting candles along the edges of the table. White paint traced lines
'“Show me the future,” she said, holding the crystal ball in her hands. She paused and took a pull from her vape to add atmosphere, expecting nothing to happen. “Did I ruin it by not believing hard enough?” The crystal ball rested on a pillow. She picked it up,
He grabbed a star with the slingshot and aimed it at a nearby sun. Pulling the band back as far as he could, he remembered he needed his glasses and awkwardly slipped them on without letting go. “Three, two, one,” he said, and released. The star crashed into the sun,
A bit anxious because the next destination didn’t seem right on the map, he grew agitated as he drove in circles. With practice and the tools he’d learned to rely on, he managed to steady himself and keep going, though the light was fading fast. He paused and
A door creaked open as he walked. The old house, with its worn wooden floors, made noise all night—but this door was always closed. He held a candle as he moved, though somehow light was already coming from the room ahead. It was part of the last addition, a
Frustrated in the car, she looked out the window as it began to rain. She just wanted something to do while she was in transit. The road was dark, and there wasn’t much to see. She focused on a drop of water moving across the glass. Somehow, she knew
A lightning bolt struck the ground, and from it the creature emerged. Hands first—limbs and joints cracking, chains rustling as it pulled itself free. The worst of the noise came from its many mouths. They covered its body: no eyes, no nose—only mouths. The creature was cursed with
The sea saw her one night as he moved and played with the sand along the shore. He saw her reflection in the water, swimming back toward the light that beamed into even the deepest, darkest places. Watching the light, he wondered if he could touch it—but every time
He never saw the man again after that day. The mirror was still there, but he stopped looking at the reflection. He learned to live with it—until one day he couldn’t anymore. So he left for the crossroads. When he got there, he sat on the ground and
She didn’t notice at first, but she had lifted off the ground. Her curls floated in the air as she held her arms open in front of the book. The bells from the church struck twelve. On the sixth chime, the lights in the apartment went out. The book
He finished the circle—a mixture of Enochian and runes set inside a Seal of Solomon. As he began the incantation, he asked for one thing. He asked for her. The perfect match. A soulmate. As the words left his mouth, a woman from another era began to materialize inside