“The French are very snippy,” says Amelia, watching as their waitress flounces away.
Jane smiles, her expression dreamy. “Their language is charming.”
Amelia screws up her nose. She has small pointed features like a rodent, but a touch of lip gloss makes her almost pretty. “Charming is as charming does,” she says.
“I suppose that’s true,” says Jane. She’s thinking of Jean-Luc. She was so hopeful, so excited, and then ... nothing.
“I haven’t been to France in years,” Amelia says. “Nobody goes to Europe anymore. It’s homogenized, passé. People go to India or New Zealand.”
India. Jane’s face lights up. “I’ve bought a deck of cards ... they’re Indian cards. They help you with your search, your spiritual journey.”
“Oh, Jane,” Amelia sighs.
“It’s not that I really believe,” Jane adds quickly, “but they’re fun.”
“New Age crap,” sniffs Amelia.
She sees her friend deflate, really deflate. She can almost hear the joy hiss out of her. Quickly she says, “But if they give you pleasure, that’s the main thing.”
Jane looks wistful. “Sometimes they work,” she says. “It’s timing, too. The timing needs to fit, not just the message.”
Suddenly, there’s a ruckus beside their table. Sparrows are squabbling over crumbs of bread. Distracted, the women watch.
Amelia stretches her arms up. “It’s a gorgeous day. Let’s enjoy the moment.”
“Yes,” says Jane, though the moment seems insufficient. A short distance away, the air is cold. The earth is dark and filled with hungry creatures.
Her fingers drift to her forehead, rubbing gently at first, then harder, harder. When she sees Amelia watching, she drops her hand and clenches it in her lap, stroking it softly with her other hand, as if it were a frightened animal.
studied English Literature at The University of Toronto and The University of Tel Aviv. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks: Eve (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2019) and One Summer Day (Kelsay Books, 2021). Her poetry and flash fiction have appeared in numerous literary journals, including Room, Emrys Journal, Ilanot Review, Flashquake, The Apple Valley Review, Horizon Review, Luna Station Quarterly, Fairy Tale Magazine, Stand, Constellations, Minyan, ONE ART, Gyroscope Review, MacQueen’s Quinterly, and Fictive Dream. Her work has been nominated for the Best Microfiction 2023 anthology and for the Pushcart Prize.
