Photo by Mark Madeo
“This Biblical weather had set the stage perfectly for his overnight disappearance, which once reported, would seem like a no-brainer. Just picture: two or three days after a hurricane rips the arse off Dublin, the Gardaí find a missing person’s crappy car at the end of a pier with a bunch of discarded clothes on the back seat. If that didn’t scream out, “Goodbye cruel world!” in neon lights, Ciaran figured nothing would. ”
The Vanishing Act by Irish writer Connla Stokes is the August 2015 edition of Long Story, Short Journal. In this tale, the 'lonely voice' in short stories turns humorous, when the hero decides to fling himself head-first into isolation, in a bid to reconnect with his loved ones. The satirical portrait of a writer in a severe stage of avoidance will be familiar to many who long for both escape, and creative notoriety. Read The Vanishing Act.