A recent widow is visited by the strange younger man at the co-op.

(from The New Yorker, Jan. 12, 2009)

She wondered if the strange glistening to the air had always been there but in her previous, protected life she hadn’t noticed it.

What a surprising string of moodswings this story is. The initial horror gives way to intrigue. Will there be romance? A philosophical argument? We’re so wrapped up in Hadley’s head that Anton’s agenda is, appropriately, a shock. More horror. This is like a thoughtful little Halloween chapter. An indie short wherein Michael Myers tries to explain himself a little, not that it helps his case. And not that Anton is a monster. In a modern horror story like this one, though, he’ll have to do.
Read it here.