The trick was looking past the illusion, because the exit was never as far away as it seemed.
Lauren DeStefanoI'm suddenly finding it hard to know the difference between nightmares and consciousness.
Lauren DeStefanoI see an ocean thatโs spilled out of a wineglass, its body clear and sparkling and folding over itself. I see a ribbon of sand.
Lauren DeStefanoWords like 'unputdownable' and 'irresistible' are simply not enough for Cat Winters's In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Days after finishing this story, it remains the first thought I have in the morning, and the thing that haunts me until I sleep.
Lauren DeStefanoSuddenly the clouds seem high above us. Theyโre moving over us in an arch, circling the planet. They have seen abysmal oceans and charred, scorched islands. They have seen how we destroyed the world. If I could see everything, as the clouds do, would I swirl around this remaining continent, still so full of color and life and seasons, wanting to protect it? Or would I just laugh at the futility of it all, and meander onward, down the earthโs sloping atmosphere?
Lauren DeStefano