"Do You Love the Color of the Sky?"

[asakiyume]

It's extremely excellent to come across a short story completely at random, from someone I don't know at all, and then fall in love with it. (I love reading stories from people I know, too, of course! But in those cases, I already know I'm likely to love the story, whereas when it's by someone I don't know, it's an unexpected surprise.)

"Do You Love the Color of the Sky?" by Rachel Rosen was just such a story. In it, the curator of a museum that collects art and artifacts from the multiverse's doomed timelines (and who has a pet dodo from a timeline where dodos weren't hunted to extinction) is confronted by a thief from one of those doomed timelines who wants to take back what's either a plundered item or a rescued item, depending on what side of museum discourse you fall on. The multiverse is a great place for museum discourse, it turns out!

But beyond that, the story's just got a great narrative voice and some killer lines, such as...

Hadn't this always been the pattern of civilization? Tea and bullets were undeniably intertwined.

and

"But your world is dying."
I hadn't expected her smile. The bullet had been gentler.
"Every world dies," the thief said. "Even yours."

Here's how the thief is described on first appearance:

You can sometimes tell where [a multiverse traveler is] from at a glance. A gleaming bull’s horn on a chain around the throat, or a shangrak tattoo. A Hapsburg jaw or a colony of melanomas, if it’s one of the worse timelines. Not this woman. She had burst from the fire fully formed and innocent of all history.

And the various artifacts themselves, and the possibilities (or tragedies) of the various timelines are great.

Free to read here: "Do You Love the Color of the Sky?"

Rachel Rosen has also apparently written a short story titled, "What if we kissed while sinking a billionaire's yacht?" which short story lends its title to Issue One of Antifa Journal, with this great cover. To read the story requires purchasing the journal, but as an ebook it's only $4.99, so I'm sore tempted.

Comments

[sovay]

It's extremely excellent to come across a short story completely at random, from someone I don't know at all, and then fall in love with it.

The author is sabotabby on DW and excellent.

[asakiyume]

I HAD NO IDEA!

Mind = blown (I've seen that username before--no doubt on your journal!)

[sovay]

Mind = blown (I've seen that username before--no doubt on your journal!)

I met her, like yarrowkat, through radiantfracture. And who says social media is dead.

[gingicat]

Rachel Rosen also wrote two amazing post-apocalyptic novels.

[asakiyume]

I have seen her mention those! Right now the barrier is high to me taking on a whole novel, but one day! On the strength of this current story alone.

[sartorias]

I'm not usually into time travel but this sounds great!

[asakiyume]

It's more possibility-travel than time travel, if that helps. And there's no actual traveling--it's all conversation between the curator and the thief.