Lava(s)tory

Fiction by nate edwards & eleanor cantor

Using the bathroom in the trailer park was simple: you stepped out of your trailer and peed. But for number 2s you had to use the communal toilet – a wooden construction up a set of stairs – it had no door; you’d check the window on the side to see if it was occupied. For flushing you needed to carry up a full bucket from your rainwater barrel. In winter, you’d first need to break the ice in the barrel with an axe, then heat it over your cooker. But I’d just walk into the wood and poo like a bear.

The bear watched from the cover of the trees, her dark eyes following the human near the wooden box on stilts. This one sometimes ventured into her woods, crouching awkwardly, mimicking what came naturally to her. Humans were curious creatures—noisy and awkward. She wondered momentarily whether to venture over to the hole in the wooden box and see what went on inside, but instead looked back to the human squatting only feet away. She huffed softly, her breath misting in the crisp morning and with a slow turn, she padded back into the forest.

Nathan (Nate) Edwards is a chartered landscape architect, university teacher, environmental/community activist, writer, poet and occaional whittler of spoons based in Sheffield.

Eleanor Cantor is a lifelong musical performer and half of the duo Sister Chain & Brother John. Her poems and short stories have been published in various international magazines and anthologies.