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One Sunday Afternoon

January 1, 2018 By Robert Vaughan

One Sunday Afternoon

There is a couple on the floor of a closet. She has just come from the salon after church, her bangs trimmed so short they are barely visible. He is not into what she suggests, swallowing her various limbs until he either chokes, or a limb goes entirely missing. They start with her feet, first left, then right, but it doesn’t work- they both jamb at the back of his throat. Yet when she sticks her right index finger in, something shifts. His throat opens, her entire hand slides deeper. His heart opens as he swallows her hand, past his epiglottis, up to her wrist. She leans back, eyes closed, ecstatic. He presses his arms over his heart, not ever wanting to lose this moment. What is there to lose? She is thinking about what life might be like without a limb, without an organ. Without desires that are beyond this realm. The longer he swallows her arm, the more possibilities open up.

About Robert Vaughan

Robert Vaughan is an award-winning author, playwright, and teacher. His books include Microtones (Cervena Barva, 2012), Diptychs + Triptychs + Lipsticks + Dipshits (Deadly Chaps, 2013), Addicts & Basements (CCM, 2014), RIFT (Unknown Press, 2015), Funhouse (Unknown Press, 2016), and Askew (Cowboy Jamboree, 2022). He was twice the runner-up for the Gertrude Stein Award for Fiction. His work has been widely anthologized, including the New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction (W.W. Norton, 2018) and Best Small Fictions 2016 and 2019 (Sonder Press), His plays have been produced in S.F., N.Y.C., and Milwaukee. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Bending Genres. www.robert-vaughan.com

Artist Credit:

Felix “baddietrash” Sanchez is a northwest based artist. Currently hanging out in Portland, OR. When he’s not drawing, he works in warehouses. Check out his instagram @baddietrash.

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