1 – natascha sturny

SHORT STORIES

• ARE •

SOMETIMES LONGER

Life can be like a slide, sometimes.

Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Stumble.

Three possible outcomes:

First, you don’t fall.

Second, you nearly trip over.

Third, you fall flat.

Then you get up again, because you have to.

What is freedom?

Sometimes, hot strawberry jam rains down from the sky.

THEN, MONOCHROME VISION SETS IN.

The question is, which galaxy?

Ohh, what’s it called? Floral wallpaper galaxy.

And that one? That’s a chandelier.

THEN, EYES MEET.

CHAIR DISCO.

As a child, I had a nagging question that I didn’t know the answer to: When did we, humans, develop the vision to see the world in color? And how fast that process must have been… Raised by my grandparents, they often told me about black and white films and TV. Knowing only color TV, I was amazed by the idea that, in the beginning, human vision must have been in black and white. I can’t remember when and how I came to understand the ‘truth’…

SHIFTING COLOR.

The most recognizable symbol. An ancient sign of prosperity, repurposed into an emblem of power and ideology. Cultural appropriation at its most extreme?

FEELING BLUE.

The Big Blue was for some time my favorite movie. And I had a teenage crush on Jean Reno. Could that be the reason why I’m so attracted to the color blue? Blue lagoon blue, royal blue, sky blue, lapislazuli blue, California blue, swimming pool blue, indigo blue, jeans blue of course…

Except for that blackish blue of the sea, when you know, oh it’s deep out there. I am incredibly afraid of the depths of the sea. This is probably my biggest fear. Slightly contradictory, The Big Blue movie is about free-diving. And friendship.

I lived for a few years on the mediterranean island of Gozo. Surrounded by shallow and rather deep sea. Kayaking on the deep end was always a big challenge. Did it cure my fear? No.

GREEN LIKE? GRASS.

The grass, or moss, seems always greener on the other side.

Then, one goes there and it turns out to be tarmac.

I ask myself, sometimes, could tarmac be colored green?

THIS WAY.

THAT WAY.

MIDDLE WAY.

A DREAM.

BUT THEN,

IT

TURNED OUT TO BE A NIGHTMARE!

ODD RESEMBLANCES.

ONCE UPON A TIME.

THERE WAS.

HOT PINK.

Born as a broiler chicken, raised in the most horrendous conditions. You lived no more than 4 to 6 weeks, only to be slaughtered in the cruelest way. Cut up, wrapped in plastic, deep-frozen. Tossed into a fryer—perhaps at ‘Dixie Chicken,’ ‘Happy Chicken,’ or ‘McDonald’s.’ Eaten on the run. Bones discarded on the street. I wish I could stop this madness at once.