“We have to extend mercy to those haunted by disaster.” Her wings spread over the entire city, every feather an organ pipe soothing the townspeople with angelic chords. I remained tied to the flagpole at the end of the jetty, the feeder bands whipping against my windburnt cheeks. “But mercy for all sometimes requires a mercy killing, doesn’t it?” The townspeople and their gentle dogs sang a three-day amen as the hurricane wore itself down against the pole.
Keegan Shepherd 