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Fire. Water.
by Avital Gad-Cykman

Torment of a Lost Ecstasy
The son flies an airplane over the handrail. The daughter yells she won’t wash her hair. The son throws a bomb at her, into the living room. The daughter looks for the electric heater. The mother washes the dishes. The father walks the dog outside.

The son rides the mezzanine’s half wall. The daughter says she will die, because the day is too cold for a shower. The son, he slips down the handrail, a small skate in his hands. The daughter, she carries the heater to the bathroom. The son piles blankets by the bathroom to build a barricade. The mother washes dishes in the kitchen. The father walks the dog outside.

The son kicks the bathroom door open. The daughter screams she is cold. The son sends the skate into the bathroom. The daughter drags one blanket inside. The son looks at the bathroom mirror. The daughter is naked. The son laughs out loud. The mother washes dishes. The father walks the dog outside.

The daughter shouts she'll show around the picture with the son's butt out. The son dives onto the floor for his skate and his jet. The daughter cries he should not see her. The son turns on the water to fly his jet through water falls. The daughter shows the finger to the son. The son throws his skate at the daughter. The daughter shouts, "Mother! Father!" The mother washes dishes. The father walks the dog outside.

The son jumps up and down like a monkey. The daughter leaps at the son. The son bumps into the electric heater, and he and the heater fall down. The daughter throws the blanket at him. The son gets up and covers her head with the blanket. The daughter says she is warm and good. The son pushes the daughter at the water. The daughter falls over the heater with the blanket over her head. The son drops the jet, the bombs, the skate and pulls her from the heater. The blanket’s hem turns black. The mother washes the dishes. The father walks the dog outside.

The daughter falls. The son pulls. The daughter rises. Falls. Rises. Throws. Pulls. The son. The daughter. The electric heater. The water in the shower. Fire. Water. The mother washes the dishes. The father walks the dog outside.


All content in SmokeLong Quarterly copyright 2003-2008 by its authors.
Avital Gad-Cykman lives on an island in Brazil. Her work can be found in Glimmer Train, Prism International, Stand Magazine, Other Voices, Happy, and AIM Quarterly among others, and also in easily googled online publications. She's thinking about adopting another dog and publishing a story collection and a novel.

Read the interview.
Issue Six (October 15, 2004): Money on the Eyes by Ian Kita «» Fire. Water. by Avital Gad-Cykman «» On the Inside of a Horse’s Skull by Daphne Buter «» Breakfast in America by Angela Delarmente «» Broodiness by Alicia Gifford «» The Suspect by Joseph Young «» Picnic by Robin Slick «» Rabbit Karma by Bea Pantoja «» Grateful by Lisa K. Buchanan «» Getting Religion by Carol Novack «» The Green Dress by Beverly Jackson «» Smoky Clothes by Ellen Parker «» Shopping List by Liesl Jobson «» The Nub by Jordan E. Rosenfeld «» Swallow Whole by Spencer Dew «» Dead Weight by Jensen Whelan «» Instructions for a Son upon Finding Something of his Father’s by Robert S. Jersak «» 201 Feet by Andrew Tibbetts «» Slip it In by Myfanwy Collins «» Frostbite by Katrina Denza «» Interviews: Ian Kita «» Avital Gad-Cykman «» Daphne Buter «» Anglea Delarmente «» Alicia Gifford «» Joseph Young «» Robin Slick «» Bea Pantoja «» Lisa K. Buchanan «» Carol Novack «» Beverly Jackson «» Ellen Parker «» Liesl Jobson «» Jordan E. Rosenfeld «» Spencer Dew «» Jensen Whelan «» Robert S. Jersak «» Andrew Tibbetts «» Myfanwy Collins «» Katrina Denza «» Cover Art "Torment of a Lost Ecstasy" by Marty D. Ison «» Letter From the Editor
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