17 Comments
User's avatar
Kylee's avatar

Like a scene in a movie. So expressive.

Shannan Mann's avatar

Oh wow, thank you Kylee!!

Ella Mantle's avatar

Oh this is sick. I loved this. Boats inside the sun. Excellent.

Shannan Mann's avatar

🥹 this means a lot! Thank you Ella 💙💙

Rachel McCarron's avatar

Arresting image. Arresting story. Loved it.

Shannan Mann's avatar

Thank you so much, Rachel--this means a lot!!

Aeron's avatar

I loved the metaphors of the last paragraph, as it describes beautifully what we feel about the world, how it can transcend our body or reality. The image of the yellow sea with boats made of leaves, as the room gets flooded, will stick in my mind. Congratulations on your first story!

Shannan Mann's avatar

Thank you for being such an astute and generous reader, Aaron!! 💙💙

Tonya Walker's avatar

Lovely image - perfect pairing.

Shannan Mann's avatar

thank you Tonya!

Chris Bujold's avatar

"Outside, night is giving up." That's going to live in my head awhile.

Shannan Mann's avatar

🥹 Thanks Chris! 💙

Hana's avatar

Oh wow oh wow oh wow thank you substack for putting this in my feed

RWIII's avatar

Can I tell you a secret? I owe my employer 30 minutes of work because I read your piece right before clocking in from lunch and I spent half an hour rereading and thinking about it, spreadsheets be damned!

One gem:

of the women that inhabit that world, long twisting hair braided down their back shimmering like eels below the water

Dreamlike yet precise. As another commenter mentioned, it feels cinematic.

I'm in for reading more of your work, well done!

Nikita's avatar

This is so beautiful 🥹

Bobby Düthü's avatar

I’m sure I’m exposing my ignorance, but I feel I should know what the thing is.

On the other hand, maybe it’s supposed to be mysterious - which it is.

Either way, it most certainly has what most stories don’t, and that’s depth.

Your writing is descriptive, yes - but, “poetic” is how I would describe it.

And the tie-in with the painting is a really cool component.

That is to say, the whole damn thing is fantastic.

Congratulations.

🙂

Sigrid's avatar

Gorgeous 🩷