Erin Jin Mei O Malley

Erin Jin Mei O'Malley lives in Philadelphia. Their work appears or is forthcoming in DIALOGIST, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Cosmonauts Avenue, and others. They are the Managing Editor of The Ellis Review and have received a scholarship from the Lambda Literary Foundation and nominations for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. You can find them at www.explorationsoferin.com.   

MARCH FICTION: "ADDITION/SUBTRACTION"

Erin Jin Mei O Malley - March 4, 2019
"In arithmetic terms, you were the sum of us. We were going to become mothers."

 

You began as a secret. A plus sign instead of a minus. Of course, we thought it had to be a mistake. We had followed all the rules. We had done everything the way the Family Planning Commission had instructed. We were good women who knew that you couldn’t be a good woman and a mother.