Cast of Wonders 458: Little Wonders 31 – Acceptance• Authors:
Srikripa Krishna Prasad and
Aviel McDermott• Narrators:
Autumn Ivy and
A.J. Fitzwater • Host:
Katherine Inskip• Audio Producer:
Jeremy Carter• Artist:
Alexis Goble“Cast of Wonders 458: Little Wonders 31 – Acceptance” is a Cast of Wonders original.Click here to listen to Episode 458"Rosie’s Ghosts" by Srikripa Krishna PrasadThey sway in front of the bay window, sunlight tinting their translucent bodies gold. Rosie watches from under her eyelashes, her book lying uselessly on her lap despite her attempt to focus. Don’t look
, she thinks, shame burning her throat, but they are magnetic as they dance together, the short woman’s head fitting perfectly into the crook of her partner’s neck. Their laughter rings in the air; Rosie knows it intimately. She hears it often when they reminisce about their time in this house, when they touch each other, when they waltz impromptu around the room. The creature in her chest cries out for this joy, this bright love that has transcended even death, despite how much she tries to suppress it.
"The Boy Who Feeds the Birds" by Aviel McDermottI think the birds started leaving messages because they heard me crying.
I would throw myself on the bed and sob, pushing my face into the pillow to try to drown out the noise but only succeeding in half-suffocating myself. And, making my pillow nasty with snot. I’d wipe at my face and in my head words would echo–boys don’t cry like girls
–and then another wave of contemptuous self-loathing and despair would run through me.
My mom used to come knock at the door sometimes, but I would ignore her. I had nothing to say that she would want to hear, and there was nothing she could say that would’ve made me feel better, even if she knew to say it.
Yet somehow, the birds knew what to say.Tags: acceptance, advice, AJ Fitzwater, Alexis Goble, Autumn Ivy, Aviel McDermott, birds, dancing, ghosts, Jeremy Carter, Katherine Inskip, LGBTQ, Little Wonders, messages, Srikripa Krishna Prasad, trans visibility, young adult fiction
