Beneath Ceaseless Skies #387, July 27, 2023

“Merciful Even To Scorpions” by Kay Chronister

“Between Gasp And Ground, I See” by Julie Reeser

Reviewed by Mina

Two tales showing that the greatest betrayal is that of self.

“Merciful Even To Scorpions” by Kay Chronister is not at all the innocent tale it seems to be at the beginning: an old woman teaching the new boy how to look after a herd of pigs. Slowly, we learn of a village’s mass treachery and one woman’s duplicitous cowardice. A masterful look at how silence allows atrocities to be committed, again and again, even against an innocent boy, who simply cared about the truth and was kind. But the betrayer is no freer than the betrayed. The title takes on a whole new meaning by the end.

I listened to the podcast for this one and it was beautifully narrated. An achingly sad tale.

“Between Gasp And Ground, I See” by Julie Reeser is also melancholic. We see how the protagonist was introduced to his addiction to Tera by his mother as a child. He is married now, with two children of his own. His wife has warned him he will lose his home and family if he cannot break the addiction. We see his struggle between his love for his family and his addiction. He is puzzled because the drug, a combination of smoking redblood petals and being fed on by a syoptera through one eye, can show you visions of the future. But the last time he indulged, it only showed him memories of his mother’s decline and death due to her addiction. He refuses to see that this will also be his most likely future. Therein lies the tragedy.