Layers of Zoe

A cupboard was found inside a lake. It contained a teaspoon, a half-knitted scarf, and one of those things that might be a seed or a stone, depending on who asks. The lock was made of jelly. The key was missing. A fish claimed responsibility but refused to testify. At

A toaster applied for citizenship. It was denied, but thanked the ministry politely and swallowed a postcard. Somewhere near a fountain that only worked in reverse, a woman sewed buttons onto a cloud and mailed it to herself under a different name. The letter arrived on a Tuesday, but she

The sea level rose but only inside certain houses. On specific Tuesdays. In homes where someone had once said, I’m fine, too many times. Saltwater ruined the paperwork but left the mirrors untouched. A fish was found swimming in a wedding glass. No one knew where it came from.

The museum burned down, but the gift shop stayed open. No one noticed for three days. The postcards were blank anyway. Someone bought a snow globe of a city that doesn’t exist. The flakes inside fell upward. A child pointed. An adult said, That’s not how memory works.

A man arrived at the wrong platform with the right suitcase. The train he meant to catch had already left, but inside his case was a loaf of bread that would have fed the stranger waiting on bench 4, had the sun not turned blue at 16:07. No one

If you do not leave your house, the world will come to you in increasingly ridiculous forms. A pigeon will enter a train. A goat will become mayor. A piece of toast will win a contemporary art prize. You will not be lonely, but you will be entirely unprepared.

At dawn, the wind forgot its direction. The sailboat chose one at random and was right. The desert crossed the sea wearing the sky’s shoes. The sailboat complimented them and sailed on. A wave offered a clock. The sailboat declined politely. The mast leaned too far to whisper to

The shepherd went barefoot more often than they expected. He did not raise his voice. He folded his hands in ways that made power nervous. The shoes of the fisherman were left at the door. He wore silence like cloth – not always clean, but never stiff. When he walked into