What is magic?

Magic is dreaming. Magic is fantasy. Magic is speculative. When we think of magic, we think of the unreal, the ethereal. It’s not always wands and wizards—it’s mysterious and unexpected.

In the story “Cotton,” María Alejandra Barrios Vélez dances between dreams and memory. The author’s storytelling reveals carefully crafted pieces of imagery, which fully submerge us into the subconscious.

There’s something about Kavi Yaga’s “2.84 Ounces” that also reveals bold, rich imagery. Through the narrator’s tone, this unique story normalizes a very unexpected event, and we guarantee you haven’t heard anything like it.

Like the fairytales we grew up on, Marianne Villanueva delves into a new telling of an old mythology in “Spinning by Candlelight.” Perhaps it’s the haunting tone the story serves us, or maybe it’s the mysterious characters inserted throughout that haunt us.

“The Loved Ones Who Haunt You in Technicolor Still” by Lynn Mundel presents a fresh, deconstructed type of writing. The author’s deft use of second person draws the reader deeper into the narrator’s memories, whittling down to a poignant, subtle ending.

And finally, “Shine in her Light” reaches to the corners of space and time, as author Sabina Y. Wong takes us on a journey through a fantastical tale of love. Her new take on personification leaves something extraordinary with the reader.

We hope you enjoy our five different magical pieces.

Thank you for reading,

Hedwika Cox
Fiction Editor
The Citron Review