Astyanax by Hannah Zhang

We heard he was dropped from a tower when he was a baby. As a prop, of course, in a tragedy. Somebody was there to catch him and take him backstage, so it really wasn’t all that bad, but the production closed a month later due to ethical concerns and stilted writing. His family was paid fifty dollars for his stunt work, and two thousand not to sue.

We find him occasionally at the store, mopping the warped linoleum tiles with his back turned to everything. He isn’t deaf, but he doesn’t hear. He wears clunky black headphones like a helm against the world. The actress playing his mother had screamed so loud that he started making memories; thunderous, premature memories of upside-down fire.

On the rare occasions that he sees us and we see him, we sign hi and how are you. He rests the handle of his mop in his elbow and gives us a double thumbs-up.

Good.

From what we heard, the actors were a traveling troupe. They skipped town as soon as the production closed, abandoning him with the groaning wooden horse and their clothespinned togas. Somebody in the chips aisle once called him a ghost, but he’s the only one left.

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HANNAH ZHANG — Hannah is a grad student and Pushcart-nominated author of speculative fiction. When not writing, Hannah can be found trying to read.

Art by MADASON McCOMBS — Madason is a writer, artist, and x-ray tech from Texas. While her writing focuses on motherhood, creation, and healing, when painting she finds the most joy in the surreal.