Author S. K. Nicholas

x and i: a novel

a journal for damned lovers vol 1-3

Depression

  • Prod and Poke

    Within the square confines of a faded polaroid, fingers smear labia at will. Litter trays, ashtrays—these sheets of paper betray my best intentions without me even realising. Some words contain hurt. Others, guilt. Two brown eyes and a smile orchestrated by tiny strings are the guiltiest of all. Strings like those connecting the many universes… Read more

  • Teeth of Millions

    Despite having a headache, I spent most of the day watching bare-knuckle fights between groups of warring travellers. The internet kept feeding them to me, and all I could do was watch as the beastly men broke each other’s faces in parking lots and underpasses as the rest of their lot goaded them on. Sometimes,… Read more

  • Pornos and Baby Bones

    The bar’s closed. At least it is to me. There’s a lock-in. I tried persuading the bouncer to let me stay, but I fluffed my lines, and now I’m left with the prospect of wandering the streets that are so much more threatening and magical than they are during the day. They know no end.… Read more

  • Giddy Cries

    As you walk the streets in nothing but your dressing gown, so the gravestones of the local church kiss your pale neck as if you were someone worth loving. The blades of grass kiss your toes. They nibble the little piggy on your right foot like the mouth of a lover who wanted you for… Read more

  • Bowie’s Teeth

    There’s an X just below her navel, and even though they say it never marks the spot, I think in this instance, they got it wrong. If I put my ear to her belly, I hear insects. If I place my tongue upon the knee of her left leg, I taste every earthly delight that… Read more

  • Pale Fingers

    Two flaming sambucas. She downs hers then orders two more. I forget to blow mine out, and when I knock it back the flames burn my lips. It’s late, and we’re the only ones at the bar. In the distance, a train cuts through the countryside slicing the murky fields the same way a blade… Read more

  • Roads Run Red

    When I whip out my cock, I hear the crumbling of Turkish mountains as they rip and roar into the Black Sea. Gentle at first, like the ruffling of feathers, and then louder, and louder, like bombs dropping on churches in some middle eastern town where the roads run red from slit throats, and any… Read more

  • Barely Twenty

    The guy in the store knows me and my drinking habits quite well. He never comments, just gives a nod and double bags what I’ve got. He’s handsome enough, but a cleft lip has left him with a crippling sense of self-awareness that hasn’t shifted even into his fourth decade. Not that he’s ever told… Read more

  • Tender Bits

    As Mussolini sways like the fleshy pendulum he is, little children dance beneath his feet, pointing upwards in unison at his rock-hard stiffy. Through the power of the myriad rays of the angry sun, it acts as a sundial upon their beaming faces. To be precise, his cock is the gnomon, and upon their beaming… Read more

  • Aeolus

    A fog wraps itself around her limbs like a sheet of white linen. Such linen might’ve been purchased from a charity store, or pinched from a three-star hotel. Either way, it has a delicate floral design. One that wraps itself around the shape of her body. It’s blanketed with a light dusting of dandruff, while… Read more