Month: January 2026

Short Fiction: It Wouldn’t Be Right

A fateful interview could be the start of a new life… or the end of one.

Last summer, my multi-talented friend Dalya (check out their new project here!) suggested that I sign up for Forest & Fawn‘s Faerie-themed writing challenge with them. I’ve always had trouble with fiction because whenever I tried, the result was never something I’d have liked if someone else wrote it. I re-read my own nonfiction work all the time to see how I’ve evolved, or if I still believe what I used to.

But I was in a bit of a creative slouch, and Dalya was very convincing, so I gave it a shot. If I didn’t win, they’d never publish it and nobody would ever see it. I didn’t win, but I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the process, and how connected I felt to the final result.

The maximum length was 2,000 words, and the story had to include:

  1. The first and last sentence must be “Nothing is/was as it seems/seemed.” 
  2. A character notorious for breaking things.
  3. A message in a bottle.
  4. The story must be within the sub-genre of FAERIE: the story must center around Fae Folk.

When I wrote the story – no doubt a result of the Dalya connection, who always challenges people to hold space for the grey in other people – I had in mind someone specific. This person was once what you might call “fine.” Reasonably intelligent, nothing loathsome about him, but nothing remarkable either. Someone who was never externally or internally challenged, just living by default, who one day began spouting some horrendous stuff. Nothing about the narrator in this story describes him directly, not his personality or his life story, but I was imagining the same sort of “by default” guy who was caught in a pattern that exploited his undeveloped ability to think critically. He’s smart enough to figure out what’s wrong but chooses passivity. This story is set at the very last moment when the option to channel his alienation into self-development, insight, or personal growth was still available.

(I’ve since been laid off, so re-reading it now, there’s also the question of how much of myself will I give away in pursuit of stability.)

Looks like I can’t turn off critic mode, I’ve just analyzed the story before you’ve even read it. Here it is!

Continue reading “Short Fiction: It Wouldn’t Be Right”