Anything can happen. Logan was asleep, dreaming of rubber-boot puddles and puppy dog tails. He was not waiting for the sky to turn red. Did he feel the shadow fall over him, the weight of presence? Did he feel the shifting of stars, of space, did he feel the air turn heavy with violence? Or was he still spun on sleep when down came the knife, down and down and down, shattering his pale face, splattering his still-soft skull into pulp? I try to imagine the scars of the witness, another child, how this small girl, all flannel and flowers and bows, unarmed took up arms, her own little arms, against the foe. She tried to rescue her brother from menace, from this magnitude of a man, massive and maniacal. His cowardice, fighting children, more sinister than his rage. I try to imagine Daddy, coming too late to save him. How many times had he read to them, why, just that very night, storybooks, and told them, that monsters were not real.
Don Jail
Broadview, Gerrard, the heavy rain. A man chases oranges, the road is a rushing river. Saturday night: a clatter of Cantonese behind window fog. Noodles, black beans with garlic, rows of red ducks from the ceilings. Past the prison. How I waited there, hours, for fifteen minutes of you. I didn’t care. There was only Plexiglas between us, and now, planets, galaxies, eternity, everything. How I wanted to bring you lemon chicken and dumplings, heaped with strange mushrooms, sticky sesame balls, bubble tea. Or Starbucks, bold and bracing, something sugary and strong, something real and warm for your cold hands.
Bio: Lorette C. Luzajic studied for a degree in journalism, but works as a creative writer and visual artist. She writes most often about art, travel, and interesting people. She has written several books of essays on these subjects, as well as four collections of poetry: The Astronaut's Wife, Solace, Aspartame, and The Lords of George Street. Her writing has appeared in over 100 publications, most recently in Queen of Cups, untethered, Art Ascent, and Peacock Journal. She is editor at The Ekphrastic Review, which publishes writing inspired by visual art. Visit her at www.mixedupmedia.ca.