fiction

The manatees could come at any moment

Heather Kamins

When will the manatees show up? What will they predict? Find out in my short story “The Manatees,” out now from Betwixt Magazine!

Published by Heather Kamins

I grew up in New York and Massachusetts, and have an MFA in creative writing (fiction) from Mills College in Oakland, CA. My fiction and poetry have appeared in various journals, and my poetry chapbook Blueshifting was published by Upper Rubber Boot Books. My work reflects my various artistic obsessions, including science, nature, time, and what it means to live in a physical body. I enjoy creating characters and worlds that explore the strange and unusual, and believe that sometimes the strangest world of all is this one.

8 thoughts on “The manatees could come at any moment”

  1. This was lovely–the story of adolescence and flubbing your way through things you are supposed to know but have no way of knowing. Or is that adulthood…or… 🙂

  2. I just read this story and really enjoyed it! How did you come up with matinees as the creature to visit the adolescents? When they came through the drain I was reminded of all the unpleasant things living in my drain, I’m glad they weren’t cockroaches or daddy-long-legs. 🙂

    1. Thanks! I was once ill and had badly swollen ankles, and as I sat in the bathtub looking at them, the thought “how did those manatees get in here?” passed through my mind. It stuck with me, and years later, it found its way into a story.

  3. While researching SFF markets, I came upon Betwixt, read this story, and absolutely loved it. Wonderful and evocative idea, well-told. Thanks! (It makes me think well of Betwixt as a market, too.)

  4. Nice work. The manatees are a very pliable and fun metaphor. My manatees told me I would one day post about them on an internet message board and today it looks like their prediction came true.

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