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Rachel Rodman is the author of the food-themed collection Exotic Meats and Inedible Objects (Madness Heart Press). Her work has appeared in more than 40 markets, including Analog, Fireside, and The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts. This is her third appearance in Daily Science Fiction.
1. "Brains!" he began--a low moan. "Brains!"
"My name is Brianna," I corrected him.
2. We met in the glade, beneath the moonlight.
Eyes, bright. Tongue, wet.
"Sit," I said firmly.
3. "May I?" I asked, of his wrappings.
"I'm sleeping," he said.
And I felt the sting of it, his rejection.
Like a curse.
4. From bar to bar I had gone, checking my scabbard, surreptitiously.
In a dive on 17th, I saw it: the shining. And when I drew it forth, slightly, by the hilt: I saw that my ancient blade, Sting, had begun to glow.
"Hello," I said--a slow whirl.
Well, hello.
5. "Limbs!" I decided, "I like limbs."
"O, good," he burbled. And then slowly, shiveringly, he commenced to remove my scuba gear.
6. "I wish that we could be together always," I said, after he had spent the night.
"Well," he said, tipping back my head, so that my neck extended, "There is a way."
"I know," I said, eyeing the jars of dust on my dresser. "Open the shutters," I said softly, to my bedside Alexa.
And I let in the sun.
The End
This story was first published on Thursday, July 9th, 2020
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