'Solstice’ is a short story about personal healing. The piece forms part of my practice led research toward a PhD in creative writing, which looks at experiences of erotic ambivalence in feminist short fiction. Its healing narrative is unconventional in that it suggests that it is the process of sitting with ambivalence that allows the protagonist to heal—rather than a process of rejecting disgust and harm in favour of desire and acceptance. It speaks to the creation of new connections, rather than a repression of harmful memories. In this regard, it relies heavily on bodily metaphor and bodily experience. The piece rejects a linear narrative structure in favour of weaving both story and character from fragmented, sensuous micro-intensities, which are akin to the ways in which one experiences harm and healing.
Eve Nuclfora
