They are in the middle of saying grace when Emily turns into smoke. She doesn’t mean to. She tries to hold on as a courtesy to her in-laws.

The clinic called the procedure a softening. Not removal, not erasure—only a gentle sanding of the sharp places.

Welcome to Inner Worlds issue nine!

Isn’t it funny, the words ring in your head relentlessly incessant, like a child sobbing loudly nearby whose wails you cannot ignore.