Content Warning: blood, dermatillomania, self-harm

Elyssa Tappero – Fairest

It was easier, ultimately

(than the knife and the heart)

to pick, pick, pick

at her flawless skin

(the forest and the hunter)

until it bled and scarred

bled and scarred

(the apple and the coffin)

and the mirror simply

stopped saying her name.

Elyssa Tappero (she/her) is radically queer, vocally pagan, and writes a lot of weird shit she hopes will leave you feeling vaguely disturbed. She enjoys alliteration, run-on sentences, killing characters, and making obscure references to historical events. You can find her work at onlyfragments.com and on Twitter at @OnlyFragments.

Artwork: Lágrimas de Sangre by Wendy Hess

Wendy Hess is from Berkeley, California, USA. As an Artist, Photographer and Author, she enjoys the Gothic, Classic, Humorous, and Bizarre side of Life. Her work has been featured in Cauldron Anthology, Seaborne, Floresta, Acropolis Journal, Lavender Bones Magazines and Disabled Tales.