Painted Surfaces

The Ferris wheel that rises above the water like a man indicating that he is drowning. It makes me feel at home. My wife is endlessly beautiful. She doesn’t mind where we go.

A horror flash about a husband wondering where his beautiful wife goes at night.

Read if you like: Emily Carroll; dread as a summation of modern existence; trips to the seaside.

Read and listen for free online. I recommend listening—Arthur Morey’s narration is so good.

• Included in Myna Chang’s Flash Roundup, August 2024
• Selected as SF Short Story of the Day, September 1st, 2024.
• Included in AC Wise’s ‘Words for Thought: Short Fiction Review’, Dec 2024: “a beautifully written flash piece, re-telling a Chinese folktale in order to explore monstrosity and complicity, all in under a thousand words”.

Published in Nightmare Magazine, Issue 143, August 2024. (Edited by Wendy Wagner. Narrated by Arthur Morey.)