Popshot Issue 21 Sample - The Dream Issue

S h o r t S t o r i e s / F l a s h F i c t i o n / Po e t r y

POPS H OT QUARTERLY THE ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE OF NEW WRITING

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An exclusive story by author Lydia Ruffles

THE DREAM ISSUE Issue 21 - Autumn 2018

Poetry 12 NIGHT TERROR Poem by Helen Rear Illustration by Matthew Brazier

14 OCTOPUS DREAMS Poem by Jo Brandon Illustration by Will Drayson

16 BUTTERFLY NIGHT Poem by Claire Booker Illustration by Adamastor Studio

22 FOUR WALLS Poem by Emma Tilley Illustration by Elisa Puglielli

24 ONE BLUE POT Poem by Michelle Marie Earl Illustration by Paulina Eichhorn

38 RICHES Poem by Rachel Bower Illustration by Alice Mollon

43 DREAM ANALYSIS WITH A FRIEND Poem by Clive Culverhouse

43 NEW Poem by Leslie Dianne

51 YOU SLEEP IN THE SHAPE OF A QUESTION MARK Poem by Liedewij Vogelzang

52 ASTRAL Poem by Helen Cox Illustration by Charlie Davis

61 THREE MONTHS SINCE Poem by Alice Harrison

62 ON REACHING 45 THE POET REALISES SHE IS ONLY 23 Prose poem by Audrey Molloy Illustration by Stefan GroÃ&#x;e Halbuer

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64 WHY DOES SHE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT HER HUSBAND? Poem by David Romanda

64 SUMMON Poem by Lauren Vevers

65 DREAM GIRL

Short Stories 6 WE MISSED FLYING THE MOST Short story by Lydia Ruffles Illustration by Ruth Kingsbury

18 THE STRAW HAT

Poem by Ben Norris

Short story by Sef Hughes Illustration by Ollie Hoff

66 SPILLING DREAMS

26 CHOSEN

Poem by Sophie Hartl Illustration by Sofi Santos

Short story by James Hatton Illustration by Joanna Layla

74 SIPPING TIME

34 THE HAUNTING OF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THOMAS DUFFY

Poem by John Reinhart Illustration by Josep Serra

Flash Fiction

Short story by Jeremy Adam Smith Illustration by Alexandru Savescu

46 AUSTIN HEAT

40 BOATS

Short story by Joe Giordano Illustration by Andrew Bastow

Flash fiction by Alice Ash Illustration by Renzo Razzetto

44 NEW WORLD

54 THE BROTHER OF THE MAN WHO FOUND THE GIANT SQUID

Flash fiction by Jack Somers Illustration by Kyle Scott

Short story by Jenny Holden Illustration by James Fenwick

68 NIGHT FLYING Short story by Sandra Arnold Illustration by Jorn Kaspuhl

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WE MISSED FLYING THE MOST Shor t stor y by Lydia R uffles Illu stration by R uth Kingsbur y

Alex finds a hot corner and sits with his back to the pepto-pink sky and sticky tarmac.

Planes roar overhead as he scans the room for Maya, remembering the first dream of hers that he heard here.

Maya isn’t coming, but the part of Alex that knows this hasn’t told the rest of him yet.

The other members of Awake Anon must be wondering where she is, whether she’s relapsed, too. Nobody asks. It’s meant to be anonymous after all, this place where the sleepless come for community and to trade memories of the thing they miss most: dreams.

Mo thought people might come from afar so she’d established the fellowship at the airport hotel. There’s a great view of the runway and they can see into Departures, but floor-to-ceiling glass hems the travellers in too so no one ever crosses.

The fan is broken. A damp circle forms between Alex’s shoulder blades. The same shape that Maya’s wet plait used to make on her T-shirt after a shower. She hated it when he spoke of her body in parts. He can’t bear to put her pieces together in his mind yet.

Mo starts the meeting.

‘Where’s Jaz?’ Alex whispers to one of the newbies.

‘Got some good sleepers off French eBay. €5 a pill but worth it.’

‘And Clare?’

‘Acceptance Commitment Therapy. Cured.’

Talk turns to whether trains or taxis are best for dozing. Alex doesn’t mention that he and Maya took turns chauffeuring each other at night or that now he watches Ubers beetle around on his phone instead.

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CHOSEN Shor t stor y by James Hatton Illu stration by Joanna Layla

I sat in a clinic that reeked of bleach and paint, listening to everyone recount almost identical versions of the dream everyone was having at the time. I could sense the excitement in the room, the euphoria bordering on hysteria, but also an undertone of threat and intolerance that made me pick my words with care.

It was the first time I lied at a clinic. I just repeated what everyone else had said, changing a few of what I thought were the more minor details.

We spilled out afterwards onto a scrubbed-raw street. The air, even outside, had a curious antiseptic tang. The sky was a liquid, mouthwash blue. Everything was so clean, so wiped, so scoured.

‘So you finally had the dream?’ I heard someone ask. He was from the clinic. The name on his badge said Zacharay. He was keeping pace with me.

‘I guess it was just a matter of time, like everyone says,’ I said.

He gripped my wrist, stopping me in the middle of the street, and I felt a chill go through me.

‘It’s OK,’ he said. ‘You don’t need to be scared.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, don’t worry, it’ll come. I won’t tell.’

That’s how love starts, isn’t it? That kind, forgiving beginning. The opening up of trust.

A terrible pressure in my ears, then my body being squeezed and crushed, or perhaps

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ASTRAL Poem by Helen Cox Illu stration by Charlie Davis

Each night she travels north the mouth of the Red River calls her where the Chippewa first snared dreams woven with willow and horsehair.

The mouth of the Red River calls her, unravelling Algic scrolls, written in charcoal woven with willow and horsehair by bison-soft, primal hands.

Unravelling Algic scrolls, written in charcoal, she is pointed to a fate faraway by bison-soft, primal hands, toward a man with eyes like blue horizons.

She is pointed to a fate faraway where the Chippewa first snared dreams, toward a man with eyes like blue horizons, each night she travels north.

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P I C A SSO

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D RE AM | Illu stration by R achel Joy Pr ice

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Popshot is a beautifully illustrated magazine showcasing the most imaginative short stories, flash fiction and poetry by the literary new blood.

From the pavement to the pubs to the playhouses, our peculiar little planet is full of storytelling. Popshot features the most sharply observed versions of these stories, enhanced by contemporary illustration’s finest talents.

www.popshotpopshot.com ÂŁ6

AUTUMN 2018