Light Switch: Three Surreal Short Stories

By Janette E Kennedy

Light Switch: Three Surreal Short Stories uses everyday fears and loss to question our perceived experience. These stories simultaneously seek transcendence and concrete connection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inklings
• Release date: Dec 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781736260005

Janette E Kennedy

Janette Kennedy, MAEd, MFA, regularly wrangles dreams, family, and words. She recently published a collection of poetry, Backbeat Ocean. Her poetry has also appeared at Mothers Always Write, on the Tiferet Journal community blog, and on the sidewalk of her hometown as a part of the 2021 World Travels Sidewalk Poetry Contest. Although she has been known to sling data and pivot tables with the best, she is fascinated by the power of art and nurturing creativity. She has taught diverse students of all ages for over 15 years and teaches undergraduate composition and literature. Discover more at janettekennedy.com

Book preview

1

Light Switch

Light Switch

Sophie would have dinner ready in the crockpot if she were still alive.

Colton leans on the open refrigerator door. He catches a whiff of his sweat mixed with grease from the garage.

A salad would have been neatly packed into a large plastic bowl, with iceberg lettuce cradling quartered tomatoes and cucumbers.

He closes the door.

She was on her way to meet them at soccer last year when a man who was drunk ran over her. A few months back, Colton started saying it that way, a man who was drunk.

You want something to eat? he asks Jessa over his shoulder.

No thanks, Dad. I’m not hungry, just exhausted, she says, coughing. She lifts her foot onto a kitchen chair. Can you undo these?

Could other nine-year-olds untie their laces?

Sophie would have known.

Sure, kiddo. He unties her cleats. She pulls them off and sits on the floor to peel off her socks and shin guards.

Do you have much homework? He rifles through the kitchen drawer for her inhaler. It’s probably just the pollen. He had noticed dark circles under her eyes at the end of practice.

Some, she shrugs.

He presses his ear against her back, listening for the faint whistle or gurgling sound Sophie seemed to hear when Jessa’s asthma acted up. He isn’t sure why he bothers to listen.