I have a new short story up at The Hanging Garden:
There’s a story you have wrapped around your heart. Everybody has one: a single, secret story that’s both lock and key. If you ever hear that story, it will feel deep and bright and familiar and true as the summer sky. It’s a joy that will stay with you till the end of your days, warm and bright for you to cup your hands around on the darkest days.
And the person clever or lucky enough to tell you the story? It won’t matter who he is, the cruelest king or the meanest, most common drunk. He’ll hold your heart in his hand like an acorn. That’s why people fear storytellers as much as they love them.