Interesting Facts about Space

by Emily R. Austin

It is not always like this. She goes through a sort of cycle. When she is happy, she applies lipstick and does her dishes. When she is depressed, her milk rots and her lips are bare. When I lived here, I took care of things when she did not wear lipstick. Now that I don’t live here, I have to come and check.

think that if there were no one else alive I wouldn’t clean my house. I would pile garbage everywhere. I would collect wrappers, acorns, and rocks, and hoard them around me like a dirty little ferret. If I existed alone, I doubt I would wash my hair. I would shave my head. I would perch on a hill of my own trash, naked.

I continue to smile. This is my disguise. If I grin, he won’t suspect anything is off. It will distract him.

I listened to them talk about their lives. I wish I were capable of being rude enough to leave. I wish I were a different person.