The dove could no longer fly. Once, Ishtar sent her to Utnapishtim’s Ark with a glory of rainbows and olive twigs bearing news of safe ships harbored. But the weight of the years crept into Utnapishtim’s pet dove – first, a crick of the spine, so that she was looking up, as if always bent in prayer. She ever recited Enheduanna’s hymns. Utnapishtim carried her on his shoulder and hand-fed her dates. She sang odes to the Goddess that plucked her into being. Finally, she could not fly. So, Utnapishtim built her a ship of her own. She sailed far away.

[Allister Nelson (she/her) is a queer, neurodivergent 3x Pushcart nominee who has appeared in The British Fantasy Society, Apex Magazine, etc. Her work has been translated into Polish and Spanish, curated by Kevin J. Anderson, nominated for Poland’s top fantasy prize, and appeared in anthologies alongside Graham Masterston, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Bill Willingham, Jane Yolen, Poppy Z. Brite, and Alan Dean Foster. Allie’s chapbooks include: Southern Saints, Southern Sinners (Laughing Man House), Jethro’s Daughter (Blood + Honey), Sinners of the South (Alien Buddha Press), Earth Girls Aren’t Easy (PULP), and her debut novella (coming in 2027), Holy Diver (Rebel Satori Press).]