A teen boy uncontrollably manifests birds from various orifices of his body, each bird carrying a cryptic message that threatens to unravel his fragile adolescent world.
One Kiss Changes Everything
- “Nicely strange story.” — Sam Tomaino, SFRevu
- “Nothing if not inventive….successfully conveying a wistful sense of the loss of innocence. Recommended.” — Mike Bickerdike, Tangent Online
I lifted my t-shirt. The wren hopped into my hand and rich red blood pooled in the cup of my navel, then trickled over, making a thin red trail into my waistband. The wren skipped to the top button of my jeans and dipped its beak in my blood.
“Ew! Vampire bird!” Isa noted.
“Stop that,” I said to the wren. I inspected my navel. It seemed fine. Aside from the blood, you couldn’t tell a bird had just pushed through. I snatched up the wren and wiped at the blood, and it kind of just smeared around on my pale belly turning it pink.
In Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 175, December 2024. Read Listen Buy