Pushcart 2026 L: Maria Kuznetsova, “Floating Around” from Threepenny Review #178

It just so happened I was tired of being a physical creature. I wanted to get the upper hand before my body had a chance to inflict more damage upon me. To put it bluntly, three children were extinguished in my womb over the course of five years and I wanted to shed my rogue body and its treacherous movements and waning power. I never wanted to look in the mirror and blanch at my hollow stomach and eyes again. Luckily, I had an experimental scientist and adjunct physics professor for a father, who could be of use in this tricky situation. The set-up is right there in the opening paragraph: Yulia is fed up with how her body has betrayed her over and over. She doesn’t want to die; she just wants to live as a non-corporeal being. Her father, after some discussion and counterproposals, helps her accomplish this, and she flits and flies around the universe as a small glowing orb. A lot of it is fun. She doesn’t really mind that her husband remarries and, more to the point, has the children…

Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town