by Shyla Ann Shehan

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I am transfixed by what dwells behind door number two, a diamond in the flow. I chart the effect any decision would have on the software system humming behind my eyes, a processor designed to decipher signals sparked by tactile sensations in my skin. What sublime subroutine awaits? I need to know. A prehistoric ice dam that’s blocked the flow begins to crack. I beg for a hammer, but any blunt instrument will do. I inch my hand toward the knob & commit the return address to the link register. 

Branch

with link.

An unfamiliar scent permeates the fog in this forest of ones & zeros. Dense & foreboding, it stirs fluids in my core.  The pumping becomes audible. I touch my tongue to the thought of forbidden fruit. Behind each new door, there is only more. Memory has never served me well, & I’m bartering with borrowed time. As I assemble, each line of code ends in ellipses, each instruction a question. Am I lost in a loop? If we’re destined for dust, then I owe it to myself to collect every possible input, else what?

The cursor is blinking.

Waiting.

Shyla Ann Shehan is an analytical Virgo from the Midwest with an MFA from the University of Nebraska. Her writing has appeared in The Pinch, Moon City Review, Puerto del Sol, Summerset Review, and other publications, and her full-length poetry collection, Mining the Gap, was published by WSC Press in 2025. Shyla is the editor-in-chief of The Good Life Review and lives in Omaha with her husband, children, and three cats. More at shylashehan.com.