SmokeLong Quarterly

let’s pretend the day didn’t begin with death. let’s pretend you didn’t facetime my sister from your car crying, YOU’VE LEFT ME & I’VE FALLEN THROUGH THE EARTH, & then put a plastic bag over your head, start suffocating. let’s pretend that bag didn’t suction tighter & tighter & tighter, skin tight. let’s pretend your facetime with my sister didn’t end moments later & you weren’t missing for over a day. let’s pretend we didn’t find you lifeless in the backseat of your car, eyes open, jaw slack, mouth a lost crescent. instead, let’s pretend history is an opening, rather than a closing. let’s pretend the day began like this— my sister found you moments after your facetime, & when she peeked inside your car, your face still held color despite being covered in plastic. let’s pretend my sister grabbed the tire iron from her car’s trunk & banged on your car’s window until it rained glass. let’s pretend she threw open the car door, pulled you out by your feet, slowly bathed your body in light, until your head rested in her arms. let’s pretend she poked the plastic around your face into a necklace, pressed her lips to yours, & started filling you with air. let’s pretend you started coughing & then blinking & then laughing: you found me. i was waiting. let’s pretend only joy entered my sister’s throat, not devastation, as she held you, as she thanked the sky for not slipping inside & turning you blue.

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“the sky didn’t slip inside” was the winner of The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest 2024!