Episode 254: A Complex Filament of Light by S. Qiouyi Lu• Content Warning:
Grief • Narrated by
S. Qiouyi Lu• Audio production by
Jeremy Carter• Originally published in
Anathema Magazine (
April 2017)
•
Read along with the text of the story.•
Click here to listen to Episode 254S. Qiouyi Lu is a writer, editor, and translator who has also narrated for
PodCastle, GlitterShip, and Acacia Moon Productions. You can visit their
website or follow them on
Twitter.
After winter, spring in Antarctica is almost pleasant, most days just barely below freezing. As you make your way back to the station, you stop and glance at the horizon—you prefer these days of twilight, the soft orange glow of sun on the horizon contrasting beautifully with the deep indigo of the sky. It’s more interesting than never ending daylight, more comforting than the long nights of winter. And it’s still enough of a distinction to create the illusion of darkness, to trick your body into maintaining a circadian rhythm.Tags: acceptance, antarctica, aurora australis, Cast of Wonders, Chinese, depression, friendship, grad school, grief, guilt, help, Jeremy Carter, parents, S. Qiouyi Lu, science, sister, suicide, transgender, walls, Young Adult fiction