A THING by K.A. HONEYWELL
The Man Who Dances With Rats
The rat is not my wife, he says, they all are. And as he bows, the creatures hop onto each other’s backs and make a pyramid, a reverse pyramid, and other shapes like a water ski stunt show. A rat is a hand that he takes and kisses. He dances and the rats shimmy. In a room upstairs there’s a book that his daughter is tucking into her purse. After her wife leaves for work, she reads about what it takes to make a ghost someone can touch. She thinks a fern might be right for her, and at night she asks her wife to brush her hair with her fingers while she thinks of pinnate leaves.
K.A. Honeywell (she/her) is the author of Damn Wilds and Veiled Scarlet. She can be found online at kahoneywell.com and on social platforms as @kahoneywell.