Good Night, Harry

Loons

I wake in a knot.

One arm threads through tucked up knees, the other tossed across my top leg.

My hands meet, clasped.

The a/c cycles on, breezes my shoulders.

I know what’s coming.

The alarm. Loons call and caw, call and caw.

I don’t want to get out of bed.

Loons though, are noisy.

“The wail is the haunting call that loons give back and forth to figure out each other’s location. Hoots are soft, short calls given to keep in contact with each other.”

-All About Birds, Cornell Labs

Harry. His sleep gets a bit looney when the girls stop by.

“Harry’s girls rise from their common grave on nights the mist gathers high in the tall firs. They hug and visit, comb each other's hair, wash faces with spongy wet ferns and fly off to the cabin.”

Good Night, Harry was written in response to an editorial picture prompt for a submission call. The photo for women of a certain age all but screamed Pacific Northwest serial killers.

(Imagine this photo excuding a much more menacing vibe, think Stanley-Kubrick-overhead-shot-enroute-to-the-Overlook-Hotel).

The Shining -Main Theme - The Internet Archive

Photo by Ryan Stone on Unsplash

I had just completed a novella and needed a break. But I couldn’t resist the photo and gave myself a challenge..

Write a story to allow the victims payback.

Challenge met.

Yet, for those who remember such events, for those who have lost a loved one, for those who have come close, a trigger warning might be best.

The story appeared online here in the terrific lit mag Twin Pies Literary, 2/4/2022.

The issue was edited by Travis Cravey. He is the author of the short story collection, Manifold (2021). Read a sample here.

Many thanks.

And thank you for reading Shared Madness.