I gave my nephew a long piggyback ride. We chanted “It’s a new record!”

“Let’s tell the whole world,” I said.

He paused, then replied, “I don’t want to.”

He’s shy about his speech impediment. But I understand him perfectly.

“You’re right,” I said. “We already are the whole world.”

Nick van Osdol enjoys reading and writing prose and poetry. He is drawn to scenes of decay and rejuvenation. He also enjoys stick shift cars with no SIM cards. His writing is in Hobart Pulp, Citywide Lunch, Plague Circus Press, Dishsoap Quarterly, and several other places.