Published: December 2025, Sortes Magazine

 

     “Kyle can’t leave Portland without asking The Oracle first, so instead of burning down I-5 at the speed of light, my supersonic Taurus idles in the middle of a neighborhood street, flashers on. We lean against the wet hood, and the windshield wipers thump behind us. Kyle pulls a half-burnt smoke from his pocket, lights it, puffs a cloud into the mist. Sirens echo off the West Hills, and somewhere, a train horn blows. The wipers thump again.

     ‘You think he would’ve seen us coming,’ I say, crossing my ankles. ‘Being an oracle and all.’

     A thin curl of smoke streams from Kyle’s grin. ‘The gods aren’t pleased.’”

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Spoilers ahead!

 

His Dog Kitty was my favorite story to write. I started with only an idea about the man, Kyle, a real charming pain in the ass, and an old friend who is starting to wonder if she’s outgrown him. I’ve made the road trip from Portland to California dozens of times, so it was somewhat easy to put these characters in a car and follow along.

 

I really wanted to saturate this story with Portland imagery and Oregon rain, have it always hanging around as things unfold. A heaviness everyone moves around but doesn’t acknowledge. The vignettes in this piece alternate between past and present tense, flashbacks and the road trip, Kyle telling a story about his friend nicknamed The Devil.

 

The Devil is only spoken about in this piece, but he gave me ideas for other stories, and I’m currently working on one where The Devil makes an appearance.

 

Also stoked to report this story was on the shortlist for The Masters Review Best Emerging Writers 2025 contest.

 

Huge thanks to Sortes for the love!