Parable

by Andrea Kneeland

 

     There was an artist who woke up one day to find himself submerged in a lake beneath layers of ice.  From the center of this lake rose a column of boiling water.  If he stayed close to that column of water he could keep warm, but his paints would melt and wash away.  He also found it difficult to breathe underwater and, although he tried his best, he could think about nothing but drowning.
      After some time went by, he lost all hope.  "I would sell my soul to the devil," he said, "if the payoff was inspiration."  The devil appeared just like that.  His hooves tapped along the floor of the lake, igniting sparky little flames that looked like orange fishes.  He took the artist by the hand.  They whirled and whirled and whirled.  The devil kissed the artist with fiery lips.
      When the artist woke up the next morning, he was still underwater.  The artist swam to his window and jumped out into the world.  His funeral was heavily attended.  One of his friends was inspired to write a book about him.

Rejected by Vestal Review

Andrea Kneeland has plans for the future.  Her work has most recently been published by Corium,
accepted by Qarrtsiluni, and rejected by Nanoism.  She has a collection of short
stories forthcoming from Paper Hero Press as part of the
Fox Force 5 chapbook collective and is a
web editor for Hobart.  And one
time she touched an
elephant.


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