They knock... intense, insistent woodpeckers or hopeful guests, unseen as air currents. Walls rattle with ripples of force, door knobs unturned. They don't need you to get up, just extend an invite: "Yes, come in. Join me. Stay". They are easy to please (kind words, once, will do forever). They'll never leave and you'll no longer be alone. There's a rapping, there's a tapping. We're all in isolation now. Will you answer?
Jennifer Ruth Jackson writes about reality’s weirdness and the plausibility of the fantastic. Her work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Star*Line, Apex Magazine, and more. She runs a blog for disabled and neurodivergent creatives called The Handy, Uncapped Pen from an apartment she shares with her husband. Visit her on Twitter: @jenruthjackson.