SECOND SKIN

[According to the wisdom of my dream, "The body is like a rubber-band for the soul." Except in my dream, I could slip out of my body at will, leave it hanging in the closet while I wore someone else's skin. It was by turns grisly and fascinating. The body fit perfectly, became painful to remove after a few days. I kept my original, but wanted more. There was one premise to be operated under: a body could be Given, but never Taken. But one night I became aware that there were certain others who did not follow this rule, that goodness did not govern everyone else as it did me, and that anyone could steal & wear your skin. That no one was necessarily who they appeared to be, and that a body was a tool, not a home, for some.]

 

Carella Keil is a Canadian writer and digital artist in the first year of her publishing journey. Her surreal art has appeared in various magazines and on the covers of Glassworks Magazine, Colors: The Magazine, The Frost Meadow Review and Straylight (forthcoming). Her writing is featured in Columbia Journal, Truthtellers: Best of 2022, MONO, DASH, Intangible Magazine and The Awakenings Review, among others. You can find Carella on Instagram @catalogue.of.dreams.