Beautiful. ( )

Excellent supplement to Monstrous Beauty. ( )

A man could suffer with his death, and I daresay most do, but mine had no agony. Have you wondered what dying is like? I shall tell you the end of it, the release, which must be the same for all men: Darkness folds around you, just as soft water closes around a stone tossed into a pond, claiming it.

Karen's review has me in a review-by-poetry frame of mind. I had a high school English teacher who argued that "The Road Not Taken" was the most misinterpreted poem in all of American literature:

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

that the choice the poet makes is of no consequence and makes no difference at all, as all roads end in death.

I lay motionless for hours, disappointed that I lived.

Here is a story that says otherwise, and even in its deep regret, it is beautiful, hopeful in passing wisdom down, urging the new generation to avoid the safe shallows, to really live.

Choose wisely when your time comes. Live—or die—without regret.

The road, it matters. ( )

Choose wisely when your time comes. Live—or die—without regret.

Mermaids are amazing, and it's hard to get enough of their legends. At least I haven't had my personal fill of them yet, they seem hard for me to find other than mere glimpses in stories. This is a short story - again, only a mere glimpse of a mermaid tale. The writing is haunting and lovely, the main character a weak man who lives to regret not taking a chance. The writer's pause between reflective thought and her subtlely in dialogue that says it all is skillful.

The mermaid is easy to fall in love with - subtle and sweet but clever. I do think the old hag's story would prove true and to love her is to meet your death, as so many other mermaid legends go, but that brings together the haunting charm of the mermaid tales and voyages in the epic, vast sea.

It's haunting, it's whimsical, it's mind-bending - perfect reading. The tone is almost gothic and works well to give me reading willies.

At the end of the story there are some questions I wondered though.

Why was it dangerous to say her name? Because it would bring the hag?
Was the hag who she would become one day, as a result of age?


Read the story here - Men who wish to drown ( )

This is a short story prequel to Monstrous Beauty. It is very short but I loved it. ( )