Challenge 677

Light My Bag

1. In Tabaré Álvarez’ “The Dangerous Love of Mr. Frank,” is Mr. Frank”s igniting the paper bag with his finger a sinister supernatural effect or is it a comical image of his burning passion for Sister Maggie?

2. In Edward Ahern’s “Luna Calls”:

   1. What seems to be the relationship between the narrator and the madwoman?
   2. Who is the poem really about? How does it conclude? In hope? Despair? Indifference?

3. In Gary Clifton’s “Buchanan and Tonya”:

   1. In what year might the story take place? Why not 2016?
   2. A crime or misdemeanor has occurred, although not a homicide. What is it, and who should be charged?
   3. Buchanan’s emotional breakdown is quite out of character with his years of experience and his carefully cultivated stolid persona. Is there any clue to why it might happen?

4. In Morris Marshall’s “Warm Voice, Cold Calls”:

   1. How long has Niko been working at the call centre? How long has it taken him to become inured to brush-offs?
   2. How is Tisa’s name pronounced?
   3. In view of Tisa’s case history and her treatment of Niko, how likely is it that she and Niko will remain together for the evening, let alone live happily ever after?

5. In Terry Hamel’s “Emptiness and Hope”:

   1. Reever is completely devastated by the loss of his son, Gief. How does Reever seem to feel about his wife?
   2. The Seer advises offering a human sacrifice to appease the “spirits of the land” and avert the mysterioius plague. How does Reever feel about it? Does he change his mind?
   3. The dream demon dismisses Reever as an “empty shell” who is devoid of hope. Hope for what?
   4. Reever dreams that Gief transmigrates into a hawk. Afterwards, he meets a real hawk, who enjoins him to “live.” At that point, “Reever knew what he had to do.” Do what?
   5. Finally, Reever heads “deeper into the dark wood.” Why? And where might he be going?

Responses welcome!

Copyright © August 1, 2016 by Bewildering Stories
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