Michaela had only drunk half of her beer when I arrived, but I could tell right away that something was wrong. Her eyes were already glazed, too quickly after half a drink; they didn’t roll quite smoothly in their sockets to focus on me as I squatted down beside her…

First, take a frying pan. Don’t think about how she left you after ten years together. Don’t think about the heart-shaped hole in your chest. Add some oil to the pan and heat it over medium heat. Think about the stomach-shaped hole that will soon be filled. Take a razor-sharp…

Every morning for the past twenty-five years, at 6 o’clock, Sable-on-the-water’s telephone booth rings. It’s not entirely punctual. It’s often a minute early or three minutes late. But according to the tourists, that’s what makes it so marvellously charming. The rumour goes like this: whoever picks up will hear their…

“Be careful.” Over and over, Ayana whispered this to herself as she paced the narrow rows of the Library of the People. Her rifle was slung over her back, her uniform was neatly ironed, and she held herself erect as she scanned the bookshelves. Ayana’s path was always the same…

Like the inner workings of a fuchsia flower The dancer moves She spins A perfectly-oiled gear In an otherworldly machine That was built to save us all. She moves mountains when she advances Valleys are carved and deserts are flooded The storms rage and then are still They push, they shove, but they…

Warning: disturbing content. She walked because she wasn’t allowed to dance. Back when she’d still thought of herself as a dancer, she had spent hours dancing, every day. She wasn’t a professional, but it made her feel alive. The first time she had fainted had been during a weekend intensive…