Help

A group of ants wandered in and out of little crevasses behind the shed and disappeared and repapered all at once. It made Emma nervous any time the cluster thinned for too long—are you alright? Is it safe there? She picked up a twig and tried to guide them away from the crevasses, away from the wandering. This didn’t work and she might have hurt a few in the process. After abandoning the twig, she plugged the corner of the shed with dirt, grass, and whatever else she could find. When done there was no more wandering, just two ants, still and confused. Side by side the pair looked almost identical. Vulnerable. Again, she picked up a twig, more delicate this time, and tried to guide the two ants, but with a few swipes and pokes she crushed one and scared off the other—please…I’m trying to help.









Nicholas DelloRusso is currently enrolled in Adelphi University’s MFA program. When not at school, he’s pretty much a vagabond, crashing with family and friends somewhere in Brooklyn, Long Island, or Staten Island. He’s had three pieces of flash fiction published by Reflex Fiction—one of which published in volume two of their yearly print anthology. After graduating, he plans on traveling, writing and making films.

See more of his work in 7.3