Ghosts

This story was originally published in Day One, a weekly literary journal dedicated to short fiction and poetry from emerging writers.

From South American author Paloma Vidal comes a collection of vignettes that provides glimpses into the lives of those who are looking for something just out of sight. A filmmaker returns to the home of her grandfather to see if her memories match reality, and a young woman moves through the disheartening phases of marriage, pregnancy, estrangement, motherhood, and aging. Meanwhile, a tango dancer meets tragedy in the presence of a stranger, and a man going off to war attempts to convince himself of his imminent heroism. Told with both vividness and subtlety, each story entails the death of expectation, the disappointment inherent in reality, and the inevitability of regret once desire has been sated.