Your Face, by Rachel Swirsky

[Clarkesworld]

★★★★☆ Short Yet Very Moving

(SF) A mother talks to a scan of her daughter taken just a month before, ah, something happened. It’s a short conversation but it packs quite a punch. (1,307 words; Time: 04m)

Compassionate Simulation, by Rachel Swirsky and P.H. Lee

[Uncanny]

★★★☆☆

(AI Horror) Winnifred died young, estranged from her parents, who paid for a simulation they could make their peace with, but it’s hell to be that simulation. (3,999 words; Time: 13m)

Birthday Girl, by Rachel Swirsky

[Uncanny]

Not Rated No Speculative Element

(Mainstream) Bella attends her niece’s seventh birthday party—the first time she’s been allowed in her sister’s house in a full year. (2,848 words; Time: 09m)

Seven Months Out and Two to Go, by Rachel Swirsky and Trace Yulie

[Asimov's]

★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention

(SF) Seven months pregnant, mourning the recent loss of her husband, Kate tries to run the ranch by herself, rejecting offers of help from friends and family. The thing in the lake is another matter. (8,124 words; Time: 27m)

Elemental Love, by Rachel Swirsky

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(SF Poetic Prose) An android expresses its love for a human being in terms that are at once romantic and chemical. (454 words; Time: 01m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

The Day the Wizards Came, by Rachel Swirsky

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(Alternate History Fantasy) On 9/11, a squad of wizards from the UK appears and uses magic to prevent most of the carnage. (2,391 words; Time: 07m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

Becoming, by Rachel Swirsky

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(Slipstream Humor) Megan has learned that being a vampire sucks, but it turns out there are worse things to be. (1,941 words; Time: 06m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Destroyed by the Waters, by Rachel Swirsky

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(Climate Change) Derek and Zack visit the underwater ruins of New Orleans, where they'd honeymooned fifty years before. (6,200 words; Time: 20m)

Rating: ★★★★★, Award-Worthy

Love Is Never Still, by Rachel Swirsky

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(Greek Myth) A sculptor falls in love with his statue and asks Aphrodite to turn her into a real woman. Then things start to go wrong--for all parties concerned. (9,249 words; Time: 30m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Between Dragons and Their Wrath, by An Owomoyela and Rachel Swirsky

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(Fantasy) Teenage friends Domei and Hano live in a refugee camp for survivors of a war fought with dragons. (4,641 words; Time: 15m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

Recommended By: RHorton:4

Tea Time, by Rachel Swirsky

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(Fantasy) The Mad Hatter and the March Hare continue their tea party where time has stopped. But does even timelessness have an end? (4,769 words; Time: 15m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆, Average