Where the Dark Stands Still

by A.B. Poranek

I look like a monster,” he says roughly, “then no one will be surprised when I do monstrous things.”

“But nothing is ever equal with humans, really—we give and we take, the scales ever tipping. That’s just the way of it.

if the world has not prepared a place for you, you must take up a hammer and chisel and carve one out for yourself.”

“You are not a monster, Liska Radost. You are sunlight, and you breathe life into everything you touch.”

“My dear, terrible demon,” she whispers into the silence. “You open and close like a door caught in a draft.

“You needn’t pretend to be something you’re not, Maksio,” she says softly. “Not here.”