Apex Magazine Issue 102: Apex Magazine, #102

By Jason Sizemore

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction.

EDITORIAL
Words from the Editor-in-Chief—Jason Sizemore

FICTION
An Unexpected Boon — S.B. Divya
Untilted — K.A. Teryna (translated by Alex Shvartsman)
The Dude Who Collected Lovecraft — Nick Mamatas & Tim Pratt

NONFICTION
Interview with S.B. Divya — Andrea Johnson
The Sublet, Terrifyingly Familiar: A Feature and Interview with Director John Ainsley — Lesley Conner
Interview with Cover Artist Max Mitenkov — Russel Dickerson

COLUMNS
Between the Lines with Laura Zats and Erik Hane
Page Advice with Mallory O'Meara and Brea Grant

• Language: English
• Publisher: Apex Publications
• Release date: May 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201311780

Jason Sizemore

Jason Sizemore is a writer and editor who lives in Lexington, KY. He owns Apex Publications, an SF, fantasy, and horror small press, and has twice been nominated for the Hugo Award for his editing work on Apex Magazine. Stay current with his latest news and ramblings via his Twitter feed handle @apexjason.

Book preview

Apex Magazine

Issue 102, November 2017

S.B. Divya K.A. Teryna Nick Mamatas & Tim Pratt Lesley Conner

Edited by

Jason Sizemore

Apex Publications

Contents

Words from the Editor-in-Chief by Jason Sizemore

An Unexpected Boon by S.B. Divya

Interview with Author S.B. Divya by Andrea Johnson

Sponsor: Taerak’s Void (Fantastica Book One) by M.R. Mathias

Untilted by K.A. Teryna

Between the Lines with Laura Zats and Erik Hane

The Dude Who Collected Lovecraft by Nick Mamatas and Tim Pratt

The Sublet, Terrifyingly Familiar—A Feature and Interview with Director John Ainslie by Lesley Conner

Sponsor: Sapphire of Souls by MR Mathias

Page Advice by Mallory O’Meara and Brea Grant

Interview with Cover Artist Max Mitenkov by Russell Dickerson

Apex Magazine issue 103 Preview

Sponsor: Cullom Returns by Sean Michael Stevenson

Copyrights and Acknowledgements

Website & Newsletter Info

Contributor Bios

Words from the Editor-in-Chief by Jason Sizemore

Hello readers! Thank you for joining us this month .

Since our last issue, Harvey Weinstein was outed as a disgusting sexual predator, our molester-in-chief continues to talk nuclear, and the genre community’s group anxiety grows. I’ve seen it stated on Twitter and Facebook over and over that the most stressful part of a person’s day is opening up their newsfeed because they expect new and worse horrors. I sympathize with that notion.

Once in a while, however, social media can be cathartic and rise above its fetid base layer. For example, the bravery of women like Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd to speak up, particularly on social media, went a long way toward exposing Harvey Weinstein’s actions. Weinstein held powerful sway over traditional media, so without Twitter, who knows if the creep would have been outed.

In the wake of Weinstein’s multiple sexual assault charges, women across all industries and all over the world spoke up about harassment using the hashtag #metoo. It was eye-opening and depressing to see the mass numbers of people across all sexual spectrums who have suffered sexual harassment and abuse.

We hear you.

This month we have magical new fiction by S.B. Divya titled An Unexpected Boon. I was drawn to the author’s lyrical and beautiful voice along with a fast-paced and involving plot. Our second work of original fiction is by K.A. Teryna with Untilted (translated by Alex Shvartsman). I adore all forms of Russian science fiction, and Teryna’s story has the hallmarks of great Russian science fiction: it’s incredibly creative and tackles an important social issue. And it’s a great read.

Our reprint this month is the classic The Man Who Collected Lovecraft by Nick Mamatas and Tim Pratt. I like to think its reprinting is timely for those following the current Lovecraft controversy.

Interviews this month are with S.B. Divya and cover artist Max Mitenkov. Lesley Conner features the director and lead actress of the indie film The Sublet.

Finally, our two new columns are here! Between the Lines with the Print Run Podcast by Laura Zats and Erik Hane analyzes genre issues for our readers. Page Advice by Mallory O’Meara and Brea Grant answers questions from our readers.

And that, dear readers, is our November issue. Enjoy!

An Unexpected Boon by S.B. Divya

6,100 words

Kalyani had to stop and touch the Jambu trees lining the road, each exactly twice, or else her insides would itch. She counted as she walked .

Twelve. Fourteen. Sixteen, she murmured, tapping the bark lightly with the pad of her index finger.

Hurry up, Aruni said.

Her brother was three years older and one hundred steps ahead. Kalyani was twelve. She could have kept up with him if it weren’t for the trees.

They arrived at school on time. Kalyani kept track of the sun’s position so she could pace herself. When they passed into the stone enclosure, she flipped her long, black braid to the front and stroked it with her left hand. One stroke for each step; one to sit cross-legged on the packed dirt; one for each of the students around her. The boys had their hair coiled in top-knots. She was glad to be a girl with hair hanging in reach.

The guru asked a boy to recite the Rig Veda from the fourth mandala and fourth hymn. Four by four was sixteen, one of Kalyani’s favorite numbers. She knew the words by heart: Make your vigor like a wide spreading net. Go like a mighty king with your host following in the rapid passage of your march. You are the archer. Transfix the fiends with your most burning shafts.

She had memorized all the Vedas. The guru stopped asking her for recitations years ago, around the same time the other children refused to play with her.

After their instruction was finished for the day, she waited by the road for her brother. Aruni stood near Urmila, his intended bride. He spoke to her at least four times a day at school. Sometimes eight. Never ten, not since the time Kalyani screamed at him for it. Ten was unlucky.

Kalyani, want to come with me to the mango grove?

One of the older boys stood in front of her and smiled with lots of teeth. Smiles were good. Aruni was always telling her to smile more often. But she wasn’t fond of mangoes.

Are there birds? she asked. Birds—and animals in general—were easier to understand than people. They didn’t make her insides itch with their gazes.

Birds? He paused, smiled wider. Sure, why not.

Okay.

She followed him across the road and down a short path. A few other students were scattered about, always in felicitous groups of two. Several pairs had already been promised in marriage. She peered up at the leafy branches.

The boy’s arm wrapped around her waist from behind.

Kalyani shrieked and pushed him away so hard that he stumbled and fell. Her skin itched with the memory of his arm, and she couldn’t stop her shrill cries as she scratched desperately.

Aruni came running, yelling at the boy, asking him what he’d done.

She followed me here, the boy retorted. Everyone knows what the mango grove means! It’s not my fault your sister is crazy!

She doesn’t like to be touched, Aruni said. Everybody knows that, too!

Kalyani clapped four times and ran, the raised voices fading as she gained distance. The itch penetrated inward from her skin as she fled past the Jambu trees. The need to get home—familiar, safe—overwhelmed all other considerations. Her feet slapped on the dirt road—thwap, thock—even, odd. Her ankle bells chimed. Trink. Trank. She arrived at their house out of breath, remembered to step across the threshold with her right foot.

Chithra, the black cat, sauntered over and rubbed against her legs. Kalyani squatted and stroked her. The plush fur whispered, cool and silken, against her burning palm.

One, two, three, four, she whispered.

She forgot to count in pairs. The damage was done. Her insides crawled with itches she could not reach, but she kept petting, kept counting, hoping for relief. She was at two-hundred forty-three when Aruni arrived. It was not an auspicious number.

What were you thinking, going off with him by yourself?

He said he would show me birds. He smiled at me. You said smiles are good!

Not all smiles are the same, Kala. How are you going to find a husband if you can’t even figure that much out?

Two-hundred fifty-seven, Kaylani murmured.

Her brother sighed. Sighs were never good.

Kalyani settled on the dirt, curling her body around Chithra’s. She inhaled animal’s calming musk. People were too complicated, their gazes inscrutable, their touch demanding and fiery. Life would be easier if she could marry an animal.

Aruni fumed on the way to the cooking area in back. Someone had to prepare their afternoon meal, and Kalyani was useless when it came to housework, especially in her current state. Why did his sister have to be so strange? The adults in their village tolerated her fits, but their schoolmates had less patience.

He would be happier once their parents came home. Father’s latest play was being performed across the river, in the grand city of Prayag, and for the first time Mother had gone too, leaving Aruni in charge of their household. He was old enough, and he thought he would enjoy the freedom. He’d forgotten to account for his sister.

After he cooked the rice and lentil stew, he worked on his mural. The afternoon sun cast a pleasing, mellow light over the half-finished landscape. He frowned at the nearly-empty pot of red dye. It was the most expensive color, and Father wouldn’t be selling any of their cattle for months. How could he perfectly capture