About

Matt Bell is the author of How They Were Found, forthcoming from Keyhole Press in October 2010. His fiction appears in literary magazines such as Conjunctions, Hayden's Ferry Review, Willow Springs, Unsaid, and American Short Fiction, and has been selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery Stories 2010 and Best American Fantasy 2. He is also the editor of The Collagist. For more information, click here.

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How They Were Found
« A person has given up his definite shape to pursue other, greater masses | Main | Over and over, my mom asked me where I came from »
Monday
21Dec2009

For Out of the Heart Proceed

Two days before he was supposed to move to Cleveland with his mother and her husband, I took my son to the mall to buy his first winter coat. Gene sat quietly in the passenger seat. I could feel him building to another one of his questions. Lately he’d been coming up with impossibilities like, “What is funny?” or “Why don’t birds have teeth?” We’d spent hours driving around, or sitting in parks if the weather was nice, discussing the answers. Just as the mall came into view a couple blocks ahead, Gene asked if I knew what ninjas were.

“They’re warriors,” I said, “from Japan.”

“Ancient Japan,” he said.

“What’s the difference?”

“It’s the same, only older.”

 --from "For Out of the Heart Proceed" by Jensen Beach, published in the pre-ordable Avery 5

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Reader Comments (5)

Thanks for putting this up, Matt. I really appreciate it.

December 22, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterJensen

This is a great story, Jensen, and I'm glad it's in a great magazine. Can't wait for my copy.

December 22, 2009 | Registered CommenterMatt Bell

I love this story so much. Can't wait to get the issue and be able to read it again!

December 23, 2009 | Unregistered Commenteraaron

Thanks, Aaron!

December 27, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterJensen

I also love this piece, and am so excited to see it appear in the next Avery.
And Matt, thanks for linking to us!

January 4, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterNicolette

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