Nancy vanquishes electronic rejections from lit mags, slays alumni newsletters, and eliminates campaign letters.

They call her, “Dear Nancy.”

She prefers Nance, Nanny, old nicknames conveying light footsteps, laughter, whispered secrets. She wishes they’d ask about her worst day. Her favorite movie.

Empty spaces taunt.

Full inboxes hide so much.

Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA program in fiction. His work is forthcoming or has been published in WestWard Quarterly, Café Lit, and Ariel Chart, among others.