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After The Disaster by Abigail Deutsch

A girl with feathered hair boards a crowded New York City subway car after a disaster. She ignores the passengers as she runs through the aisle, then stops and places her fingers around the narrator's head until birds emerge from their eyes and ears. Such surreal encounters were common after the disaster left the city in shock and turmoil. The short story depicts the strange and dreamlike experiences people had as they tried to process and cope with the trauma.

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Mudassar Ashfaq
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548 views2 pages

After The Disaster by Abigail Deutsch

A girl with feathered hair boards a crowded New York City subway car after a disaster. She ignores the passengers as she runs through the aisle, then stops and places her fingers around the narrator's head until birds emerge from their eyes and ears. Such surreal encounters were common after the disaster left the city in shock and turmoil. The short story depicts the strange and dreamlike experiences people had as they tried to process and cope with the trauma.

Uploaded by

Mudassar Ashfaq
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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After the Disaster

By Abigail Deutsch

New York City, 2001


One night, not long after the disaster,
as our train was passing Astor,
the car door opened with a shudder
and a girl came flying down the aisle,
hair that looked to be all feathers
and a half-moon smile
making open air of our small car.

The crowd ignored her or they muttered


Hey, excuse me as they passed her
when the train had paused at Rector.
The specter crowed Excuse me, swiftly
turned, and ran back up the corridor,
then stopped for me.
We dove under the river.

She took my head between her fingers,


squeezing till the birds began to stir.
And then from out my eyes and ears
a flock came forthI couldnt think or hear
or breathe or see within that feather-world
so silently I thanked her.

Such things were common after the disaster.

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