The mist itself!
Fiction from Issue Fifteen by Matteo Ciambella
In “Fluff,” Matteo Ciambella’s contribution to our Issue Fifteen fiction section, stories are embedded within stories; a scientist disappears in a sandstorm; sheep loom large. Each turn in this intricate tale is unexpected and delightful. Read the full story, which begins with a debrief of a New Year’s Eve sex party, online now.
MATTEO CIAMBELLA
“‘The academy’s not a structure in the mist,’ I once told Rybak,” said Ciobanu, “‘but the mist itself!’ And Rybak smiled at me politely with his Ceaușescu lips, the way one smiles at the village idiot. People like him, who mistook sophistry for sophistication the day they first set foot inside a university, think they believe in change, whereas what they really believe in is a change of vocabulary, nothing more. But the world belongs to people like Rybak, Raimondo — people who can smile politely at you while you call their bluff.”