A Chevrolet Silverado crashed on Route 129. Her soulmate, a turkey vulture, landed by her side. She fed him venison for six years, served on asphalt, cooked by sunshine.

The vulture brought a pebble to comfort her. Out of her dented body, “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison still sang.

Allison Stalberg is a Fiction MFA student attending Southern New Hampshire University. She has worked in journalism for seven years and has speculative fiction stories published in Outposts of Beyond, Calliope, and Altered Reality magazine. As an asexual neurodivergent woman, she works towards writing stories that inspire rebellion, independent thinking, and radical love. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband and cats.