Professor of the Month
Boris Tsessarsky
Boris Tsessarsky's stories have appeared in Folio, Temenos Journal, and PIF. Currently he is working on a collection of speculative war stories. He holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, and teaches writing at William Paterson University.
Without Past
With my eye-cam nestled on my shoulder, I’m on my way to film a few rats in the park. City rats, some the size of small dogs. The cityscape swallows everything in its path and leaves only flickers, human remains and dust. High-rise hotels and offices hog the skyline and look more ominous at night. Bank machines and food slots have replaced bodegas and eateries, but the sidewalk hasn’t changed, the scrawls from twenty years ago scratch the concrete beneath me. The lamp pole with the mosaic tiles sparkles on the corner. Before the park, I pass by bar row, where bony undergrads and foreign exchange students slither around dance floors. Where everyone is younger than me, better looking than me, better equipped to escape the city.
At the end of the row, one old holdout remains, a candy store wedged between a drab Laundromat and a real-estate office that never opens. Mandy’s Candy—you’d know it if you saw it. I walk by but don't see anyone outside. Maybe my friends are staying in tonight.
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