Unserious postmodern paintings.

The hummingbird had been told, repeatedly and kindly, that it was neither remarkable nor deficient—just average. It believed this. So it hovered,…

The worm had been recalled from its posting in the Ministry of Subterranean Affairs after a clerical error reclassified it as a…

The oyster had spent years rehearsing its sincerity in the dark, practicing phrases like 'I feel seen' and 'This matters deeply' to…

The beetle had been punctual for 47 consecutive mornings, each arrival timed to the second by the sun’s angle through the cracked…

The jaguarundi had been told, by a very serious badger in a tweed vest, that its destiny lay in the alignment of…

The tinkerbird had filed its nesting request three Tuesdays ago. Today, it waited for the stamp. The clerk, a mole in spectacles,…

The oilbird had been told, repeatedly and with great earnestness, that its species was not meant to inhabit industrial spaces. It listened,…

The jackal had waited three hours for the stew that never came. It had licked the bowl clean yesterday, and the day…

The rug had been the subject of three separate complaints from the building’s strata committee, each citing ‘excessive textile agitation’ and ‘unauthorised…

The dowitcher had been a shorebird of note, once migrating with precision across three continents, but after a particularly confusing encounter with…

The bear had been told, repeatedly and with varying degrees of sincerity, that it was special — not for what it did,…

The kestrel had been waiting for three days for the mail to arrive, though no one had sent it anything. It had…