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Elena Zhang
Still Life
In this movie, you are pulling off a heist in the museum. They have stolen your mother’s teeth and displayed them in the Ancient Egypt exhibit between canopic jars. You pocket the yellowed teeth as alarms blare. Quickly, you replace them with a Monet and hide inside a sarcophagus. You stay there for many years. The teeth grow two inches.
Train Announcements
Please be aware of your surroundings. Let the poison pass to you incrementally. Report any suspicious summer trees immediately. Death leaves marks on our heaving skin. Any forgiveness is prohibited. If you need help, empty the yolk of stars and live in crowded streets. Do not leave hurt unattended. If you see something, weep, then liquify into flight. Keep birds in your mouth so others may sit next to you. Be mindful of the distance between bodies. Memory is long and so is a walk to nowhere.
Elena Zhang is a Chinese American writer and mother living in Chicago. Her work can be found in The Offing, Wigleaf and X-R-A-Y, among other publications. She is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, and was selected for Best Microfiction 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Bluesky: @ezhang77
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