fiction
Islands
Written by Erin Klassen, Illustration by Lauren Tamaki
In this short story, our narrator’s warping of time allows her to seek who and what she needs, even if she might not know it yet. If everything fleeting can be chased and revisited, ephemerality is a gift. “Time only matters when we consider how much we have left,” she says, while she takes us along in cab rides with Lou Reed, to parties with philosophizing “weirdo art gallery friends” and 1970s glitterati. It’s a joyride, and like any high we know the crash could be coming soon. After all, the people around her are yearning for something, too.
Featured story for August 2018
“Lou sat on the sofa chain-smoking, his shirt fully unbuttoned and his legs crossed, leering at us as we danced. Charlie spun me around and around until I laughed so hard that my eyes welled up with tears and my mascara started to smudge. When “Sympathy For The Devil” started playing, I kicked off my shoes so I could feel the shag rug tickle the bottoms of my feet. Charlie started getting more familiar, touching the small of my back and pressing his cheek against mine. That’s when Lou started sing-chanting, “Charlie’s Girl! Watch out for Charlie’s Girl!””
Lauren Tamaki
Lauren Tamaki is a Canadian illustrator living in Brooklyn. Her clients include The New York Times, GQ, The Wall Street Journal, Penguin Books, and the Rockefeller Center. She recently illustrated You Are Mighty: A Guide to Changing the World by Caroline Paul, a resource for young activists.
Erin Klassen
Erin Klassen is the founder of With/out Pretend, but she’s also an editor, collaborator, community-builder, and fiction writer. Her work has appeared in a number of print and online publications, including Studio Magazine, CBC, Ephemera Magazine, and You Care Too Much. She enjoys Nina Simone, Italian food, and talking about the future.