When the Wolf Comes Home

by Nat Cassidy

And girls with daddy issues know how to party. But guys with daddy issues? They’re just mean.”

“Haven’t you noticed by now? Just because something’s impossible doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

What was your dad like? Was he tough? Stern? Kind? A big softie? Was he scary? Intimidating? Conservative? Liberal? Religious? Secular? Did he flirt with waitresses and flight attendants? Was he a sports fanatic? A silent monolith? A teller of horrible jokes? Was he a ghost? An idea? A memory? An empty space?

Knowledge of behavior you can’t alter is the heaviest kind of knowledge, isn’t it? Knowing you’re a shape-shifter? It gets hard to remember what shape is really you in the end.

Maybe the true horror of the werewolf is that the change is never permanent. Maybe the true beauty of the butterfly is that it is.