The New Toe by Zach Williams, 2022
The magic trick:
A very strange plot development in the very first sentence
More Zach Williams today, and the trick here may seem obvious. Our narrator is giving his baby a bath when he notices that the baby has sprouted a new toe. Right there in the story’s first sentence.
And there you go. That strange plot development is enough to set all of the story’s themes into motion. And that’s quite a trick on Williams’s part.
The selection:
Buddy, I said, your foot – but he spun again, sat up, filled the blue whale pitcher with water, and poured it onto the bathmat. I said, No – water stays in the tub. Why? He asked, and I said, Because it makes a mess, that’s why, you know why.
As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.
Subscribe to the Short Story Magic Tricks Monthly Newsletter to get the latest short story news, contests and fun.
Short Story Magic Tricks 