Paralysis

Published in in Toho Journal, Vol 2, Issue 2, Winter 2020

“Paralysis,” a piece of flash fiction was originally published by Toho Journal in Volume 2, Issue 2, published in 2020. Sadly, this lovely journal with amazing art has since ceased publishing, so I’m including my piece here for you to read.

Paralysis

The man stands on a plateau with nothing but distance below. He is broad-shouldered yet too thin. He shifts from foot to foot, uncomfortable, hair gleaming in the harsh, unyielding light. Sometimes he feels the fragile column sway. It might be vertigo, or it might be in his head. So he stands, looks. The distance spreads in all directions. Dusty plateaus congregate out of reach. Footsteps lead away, engraved in the dust, etched in his memory. People beckon in sweet voices, urging him across. But every time he peeks into the depths below, his heart seizes. The darkness calls. When he looks up, their faces turn from angelic pictures of adoration to masks of rot. He squints to see if they are still rot or his imagination. He can’t tell. They a…