By Emily Hizny
sat beside the roaring flames of his forge, longingly staring at the figurines of animals in the adjacent shop. The miniature creatures stood proud in the sunlight, his favorites, the creations he yearned to craft and breathe life into again. But those didn’t sell, his orbs did, hammered into shape and sustained with his own emotions, bright and palpable, ready to be smashed for patrons to experience themselves. The glassmith’s gaze returned to the forge after lingering in daydream but he couldn’t continue, thoroughly drained and devoid of life. How much more could he give? Seeing the emptiness in his partner’s eyes, the shopkeeper turned to the customers and announced: “I’m sorry folks but emotion orbs are no longer available today.”
Emily Hizny is a Creative Writing and Publishing & Editing double major at Susquehanna University in the U.S., currently lurking around Twitter as @OctoEmily. Her work has been featured in SU’s literary magazine RiverCraft as well as Dwelling Literary, Ice Lolly Review, Inertia Teens, HOLYFLEA!, Clandestine Lit, and Melbourne Culture Corner. In her free time you can find her sewing, playing video games, and being a part-time octopus.
The Birdseed 