Carolyn Oliver, Crepuscular Behavior, fiction by TahomaLiterary

“Crepuscular Behavior” began when I saw a picture of a cassowary. It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten where I saw it, but I couldn’t forget the cassowary’s electric blue feathers, its talons, its casque. I read about their diet, their habitat, their fearsome reputation, and listened to recordings of their booming calls. As I pried at the edges of a story about a woman with secrets and mistakes she doesn’t share with anyone (anyone human, that is), the cassowary pecked at my attention, until I realized the isolated woman and the huge bird belonged in the same story.

Carolyn Oliver lives in Massachusetts with her family; links to her work live at carolynoliver.net. Twitter/Instagram: @carolynroliver