“Looking Glass” by Aleksandr Peterson

Something Coming Soon

by Bud Smith

            When he died, we hired three neighborhood girls to push his classic cars over the backyard cliff; she used the space to sit and reflect.
            When she died they set her painting on fire in the street, had a hazmat team haul away her unused art supplies; her studio became a Karate Dojo.
            As I crossed the portico door, I waved a hand—my material life vanished to you; my other life began.
            Today she lobbed a grenade into the empty space; nothing happened.
            Yesterday this place was filled to the ceiling, now all I notice is a crater, where the floor used to be.
            When they were born, the space was still being used as a roller skate rink; this was before the valedictorian couldn’t stop herself, broke the glass, went tumbling over the cliff.
            As I typed this, a squad of bulldozers came and leveled the place; but still, we karate chop, and paint and roller skate: reflections inside reflections.
            Yesterday, a sign made of femurs went up, spines as posts. Sign said: SOMETHING COMING SOON.
            Bet it is. We’re all anxious to see what.

About the Writer
Bud Smith is a graduate of Central Regional High School. He lives in NYC and works heavy construction in NJ. Latest book is the novel F-250. www.budsmithwrites.com.

Aleksandr Peterson is a fiction-writer and hobby photographer from central Tennessee. His images are shot in both digital and film formats and focus on natural landscapes, especially when subsumed by decay. He holds an MFA in creative writing from UC Riverside and a B.S. in journalism from Tennessee Tech University. See more of his photos here.