fiction – Page 40 – elancharan gunasekaran

farmers ground tongues into damp soil to birth papered vertebrae

tales speak of a mystic in the deep woods one who conjures the emerald fire and speaks to the servants of rot and decay

an ancient bell cast from burning mountains rings within the bones of mortals wakes the gods of the deep

autumn dusk clouds fall in waves of ember and cinder

grimoires of old drift beneath grim waters torn pages bloom into kelp and ink slithers away as eels

autumn dawn winds grow in excitement and tree leaves catch fire

each blade forged sings its own funeral and the blacksmith learns the language of death

made of soft bone bugs death and grim orbit the carnal flame of a lantern she carries across the misty stream

bees hover in ecstasy over the smoke for the pollen is molten and the fire it drips is the alltruth in the garden of paradise

danger and treasure collide moth riders dive into hives of toxic rain to collect a few drops of soma