Martin Wyss carves artistic caskets, and is commissioned by Odessa Crouch who wants to be buried in a purple scallop shell. Odessa comes to test the casket and announces her imminent plans to die, so Martin must decide how to extract her from his workshop. From Teresa Milbrodt s Bearded Women: Stories, this tale is one in a phenomenal collection (Asimov s Science Fiction) of short fiction about the so-called freaks trying negotiate a world that is quicker to stare than sympathize.

ChiZine Publications (CZP) curates the best of the bizarre, bringing you the most excitingly weird, subtle, dark, and disturbing literary fiction. Look for more titles in the ChiZine short stories collection to build your digital library.