Tell the Machine Goodnight

by Katie Williams

She reached for something else to say, something not in the manual, something of her own, but the landscape was razed, barren. There was nothing there. Why was there nothing there?

In college, I had a professor who asked the entire lecture hall to cover their ears before he whispered the real name of God. I left my ears uncovered and found myself disappointed by the syllables.

And it seemed to Pearl a type of violence, that much charm continuously wielded, a blade that severed you from your own good sense.