Synkroniciti is stoked to welcome back writer and poet Kurt Newton from Connecticut with “In the Shadow of the One Who Loves You.” We had forty short stories submitted for this theme–a record for us–and many were quite good. Kurt’s polished writing and the uniqueness of his tale, which is rich with Jungian symbolism, stood out as the best of the best. We loved it so much that we nominated it for the Best American Short Story Anthology.
Marjorie Ingalls is at Costco shopping for Mrs. Singletary, an elderly lady she cares for on Mondays and Thursdays, when she sees a vision of herself standing in the bushes on one of the islands in the parking lot. She’s not one to believe in ghosts and chalks it up to being tired, but the visions keep coming. Mrs. Singletary keeps asking about her love life, and Marjorie can’t bear to tell her that she’s still mooning over a college roommate, Sofia Delgado, and living alone with her cat, Sofie.
“Marjorie hurried to the front door. But the dusk of the evening greeted her alone. She walked to the end of the driveway. In one direction the road was empty; no sight of a car or the sound of an engine speeding away. In the other direction: the woods. Birds chirped their evening song, ready to bed down for the night. Leaves moved softly in the breeze. The woman was gone.”
The turning point of this story is deeply satisfying and there are plenty of dissonant realities along the way that create the deliciously spooky, haunted atmosphere of Marjorie’s world. All is not as it appears to be.
Read “In the Shadow of the One Who Loves You” in Synkroniciti’s “Haunting” issue, Vol. 6, No. 4, available here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Kurt Newton’s short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies over the years, including The Dark, Flash Fiction Online, The Fabulist, and Café Irreal. His collection, BRUISES, was recently published by Lycan Valley Press. A young adult collection, DREADFUL SEASONS, is forthcoming from Twisted Dreams Press. Kurt is also an accomplished poet with poetry appearing in Synkroniciti, 34 Orchard, Sublimation, and Hobo Camp Review. His poetry collection, THE BODY SNATCHERS & Other Death Rituals, was just published by Island of Wak-Wak. He is a lifelong resident of Connecticut.