A Frank Conversation Following An Epistolary Courtship

How will you tell people we met? she asks.

I’ll say I’m a quantum anthropologist from a parallel reality who built a machine to peer beyond dimensional walls. That I spent years studying myriad earths twitching across infinite frequencies until, one day, I saw you through my viewfinder. Yes, I knew crossing the trans-dimensional bridge would buckle my reality’s foundations. I didn’t care. I’ll warn everyone, my love for you doomed a universe.

And you? he asks.

She shifts. Her shackles jingle. The guard clears his throat. The truth. I took first at the International Sasquatch Rodeo. You were runner-up.

From Guest Contributor Keith J. Powell

Keith is co-founder of Your Impossible Voice. Find more of his writing at www.keithjpowell.com.

There's Probably A Metaphor Somewhere

They'd played countless times, but never with so much at stake. Their matches began as flirtation, then morphed into courtship. They won in equal amounts until, as time passed, her victories became mostly afterthought.

Their styles contrasted perfectly. He was aggressive, careless even, looking to strike quickly at her most vulnerable spots. She played cautiously, guarding every pawn. Eventually, he'd wear down her defenses.

This was their final game. The winner would keep the house, the car, the dog. When she won, he couldn't believe it.

"You were always awful at chess. I let you win because it was easier."