“Exploring life through fiction, together.”

If you asked me how I’ve been, and I was feeling truthful, I’d say it’d been a bad week. I could back it up with a torrent of moments, big and small, that hung like leaded fog.

Fiction Bite - I made a friend, Mum

The bench was worn from the abrasion of countless behinds. Chipped brown paint and greying wood. It was cold and wet against my cheek as Dan pressed my head down. I watched ants carrying crumbs twice their size. They slaved their miserable, insignificant life away, bringing food back to the colony. I just got fucked in the butt when Dan was horny. When he wasn’t, he bought me ice cream and let me ride his bike. Why should I think I had it worse?

Quote of the Week

“And sometime it’s enough

To lie down here on earth

Beside our long ancestral bones:

To walk across the cobble fields

Of our discarded skulls,

Each like a treasure, like a chrysalis,

Thinking: whatever left these husks

Flew off on bright wings.”

Excerpt from Antidotes to Fear of Death by Rebecca Elson

Book of the month

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

I found this far more nuanced and intriguing than I was expecting. Years ago, I saw one of the film adaptations, so I thought I knew the plot. Instead of the action/thriller pacing, I found a gentle, thoughtful story with intriguing perspectives on humanity. It’s also delightfully concise, with my edition numbering 189 pages.

Final Words

But if you knew to prod, I could tell you of the joys, little and big, that lit my week in rainbow hues.

They seem as numerous, maybe more so. But I’d still call the week bad. There’s no conscious logic, no well-tuned algorithm. Just this feeling I can’t shake.

No matter how much I try.

What do you do when you hit a funk? How long does it take you to notice in the first place? Would you be willing to hit reply? It’d make my day to hear from you.

With Love,

Josiah

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