Ariel Kusby

Ariel Kusby is a writer based in Portland, Oregon. Her poems, stories, and reviews have appeared in Entropy, Bone Bouquet, SUSAN / The Journal, Bodega Magazine, and Pom Pom Lit Mag, amongst others. She works as a bookseller in the children’s room at Powell’s City of Books, and is the managing editor for Deep Overstock: the Booksellers’ Journal. Her first children’s book is forthcoming from Chronicle Books. Find her at www.arielkusby.com.

SEVEN DROPS OF SALT WATER by Ariel Kusby

July 8, 2019 · Fiction

First, she thought he was a man. Then, she thought he was a seal. But if you’ve ever seen the way a sea mammal disappears, becomes dark water, you’ll understand why she never thought he was a warm body but a bit of ocean contained for a while. When a slick being emerges fully formed from a void you want to grab hold of it. You want to ask it what it’s seen. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re any different, that the deep is darker than your own blood. The body is full of stories. Your blood will…

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