By Leah Mueller
After his second wife left him, Leo decided to live underwater.
At first, it was hard to get used to the dampness. Leo’s underwear always felt wet. He tried to shake water from his shoes to no avail. His pudgy feet sloshed when he walked.
Leo liked to watch a certain mermaid in the seaweed. Her tail’s glittering scales reminded him of silver spikes. He was afraid to speak to her, however.
One afternoon, she approached him. Leo trembled. What could she possibly want?
She waved an unlit torch in his face. “Got a match?”
Trembling, Leo lit the fuse.
Leah Mueller is an indie writer and spoken word performer from Bisbee, Arizona. She is the author of nine prose and poetry books, published by numerous small presses. Her latest chapbook, “Land of Eternal Thirst” (Dumpster Fire Press) was released in 2021. Leah’s work appears in Rattle, Midway Journal, Citron Review, The Spectacle, Miracle Monocle, Outlook Springs, Atticus Review, Your Impossible Voice, and elsewhere. Visit her website at www.leahmueller.org.
The Birdseed 