Mary is a gas-station attendant with an epileptic son who can barely make ends meet, when she makes them meet at all. She has dreams of a forbidden love but can’t focus on those dreams when she can’t even buy her son’s medicine. She has a real knack for staying calm under pressure, and steadfastly does what she needs to in order to keep food on their table and a roof over their heads. One day she has an encounter with a woman who claims she can change Mary’s life in an instant.

After a strange dream that seems like a sign, Mary meets her mystery woman, who offers her a strange deal. From there, Mary is taken on a whirlwind ride that threatens to crack her reality in two. She’s taken behind the curtain into a world she never dreamed could imagine - a world where nightmarish chaos is only kept at bay by a small few - and now they want her to be one of them.

It seems like the opportunity of a lifetime, but will Mary be willing to sacrifice her own values and those she’s trying to teach to her son in order to get them a better life?

About the Writer

Brandon Humphreys was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and most of his short stories take place in his home state of Washington. He has a Master of Arts degree in English and creative writing, and he works as a freelance writer, adjunct writing professor, and a college writing consultant when he’s not writing his own fiction and blog pieces. He is a veteran of the Washington Air National Guard, plays guitar, loves dogs, and loves to fly kites on the beach. He is currently finishing his first novel about a bunch of dragons and their worshipers on another world.

Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.