Allegory of the Man

Old-growth trees towered along both sides of the compact-dirt trail, and fungus-covered logs rested between thick beds of ferns. Though he only caught glances of the river through the thick foliage, Brady could certainly hear its fizzy roar. Even with the highway only minutes behind him, out here with his solitary section of trail, Brady felt like he had entered a different realm.

"Allegory of the Man" is a short story in the magical realism genre about a trans man who gets swept up in social conditioning about men and masculinity. It was published in the 16th issue of SFF journal Prismatica on May 31, 2021.