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Hours ago, on the Puerta del Sol, I was considering dinner, guidebook in hand, when a woman with a wild frizz of hair made a conjuror’s flourish—and set a basket full of scarves aflame. The fabric shriveled quickly, giving off ugly smoke. An enraged vendor chased her through the crowd, and I heard, behind me, a stranger call my name. A woman, smiling slightly, all in blue. Hair cut quite short. Hadn't we met on the bus to Matadero Madrid? No, the museum: in front of that big Velázquez of women weaving. She’d just eaten an apple, and still tasted of it when we kissed: fresh and crisp, with a slight flavor of salt. (Jalilla? Was that her name?) We walked on, talking; paused near a high black gate, its padlock carelessly painted red, and kissed again, more slowly. I liked her smell, the feel of her short, soft hair, the crepe of her shirt. The buckle of her belt pressed into my stomach, printing unseen designs into my skin.
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Estación Origen MADRID |
"Estación Origen MADRID" is in the Winter 2018 issue of n+1. |
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“Oh, I’ve been molded into action figures,” the actress told the interviewer. |
Insurance |
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"Insurance" (no paywall!) appeared in the Online Only section of the n+1 website.
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Headlights swept over trees. I caught Alicia staring at me, her head a little to one side: she didn't look away. Instead, she got this irritating look of satisfaction, as if she'd let me in on a big secret in perfect safety, because it was something I would never understand. |
Inversion of Marcia |
"Inversion of Marcia" is in the Winter 2017 issue of n+1. |
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Wind dropped off. I waded through a drift, unsure how shallow or deep my next step would be. It might be a dream, this cold, this silence, this emptiness posted with trees. I stopped before I knew what I’d heard: there. The soft squeak of fresh snow being walked on. |
Curtain of Frost |
"Curtain of Frost" first appeared in Epiphany. | ||||
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The summer I was killed we all went down to the lake.
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A Cluster of Sunsets |
"A Cluster of Sunsets" first appeared in Southwest Review. | ||||
VASTNESS, ROUGHNESS, VERTICALITY.... "Since when were MALE and FEMALE among the four cardinal directions? He gave a low whistle. Since now. His instinct was to stay on the main road, but the road was about to split irrevocably. Right? Left?" |
Nightmaze |
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Nightmaze, an exerpt from the novel INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL, appeared in BOMB. (Flash 7+ required.) |
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...I
remember dreaming of a carousel that was also a ski lift, then awakening
to a wild sound of rain. |
An Incredibly Heavy Rain |
This story will be posted after publication. | ||||
MORE SOON. |
(Will let you know!) |
This story will be posted after publication. |
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Quite soon, I hope! |
More fiction on the way. |
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Site, writing, and original images copyright (c) by Thomas Bolt. All rights reserved. |
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