Bad Machinery by John Allison for August 09, 2022

From the print edition: “Lee must have spent a long time in denial. Either that, or he’s not very bright. (He’s not very bright.)”

I feel like I’ve been too harsh on Lee. He has lived for years in a trap of terror and fear.

Did Olivia and Polly want to “ruffle dat hair”? Apparently Lee wore it even longer back then.

Odd that both his female friends had watery fates, isn’t it?

Hmm.. Olivia Blake (B"lake") … Polly Crick (Creek) … there seems to be some sort of pattern…

This means two things. One: that Mildred wasn’t the first of Sasha’s attackees, and Two: Mildred is the one who survived.

I knew there was more to this than seemed apparent. Hard to imagine what this could do to a person, especially at such a young age of innocence. I hope we also get to see how Sasha enters the picture. Her effect has obviously been immense. And what of her? I can’t imagine a young Selkie would be prepared for a fate such as this. She seems like the bad one here, but also seems little more than a pawn in a twisted play of mythology. It is easy to depict something in black and white, good and bad, but that rarely illustrates the whole picture. There are many more shades to be revealed, and it often takes some bravery to dive into the depths.

I don’t think that water’s part of this story is quite done yet.