TITLE: Now Before

CREATOR: Drew Petriello

CATEGORY: Death

CREATOR COMMENTARY:

Warning: Suicide.
Malia makes a choice.

Read the piece first, then this – it is best you experience it first and then reflect.
You did that? Good.
This story deals with suicide from the perspectives of two people; the dual nature of it being both a relief from and continuation of suffering. Duality is present throughout – the changes from “traditional(ish)” prose into something more abstract, life and death, happiness and sorrow, the differences between what people think they need and what they actually need, and more. The lines between life and death are blurred, and even in death, these characters feel very much alive.

SUBMISSION:

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CREATOR BIO:

When Drew Petriello is not acting on stage or film, he takes to writing as another creative outlet. Often, it is a confusing and abstract scrawling in a notebook somewhere, but sometimes these scrawlings cohere into a poem, short story, or play. He enjoys playing around with language and traditional structure. When not being creative, Netflix and board games are his equivalent to crack.