By: Timbray Shafer.

“Impressive,” I tell the Architect. “Though I wonder…”

He raises an inky brow.

I swallow. “The locomotive has a chimney.”

The Architect crosses velvet-coated arms, insistent I finish the thought.

“Why? It’s arcane crystal-powered, no? What’s making the smoke?”

He grins, then leads me inside his grand creation’s skull. He slides a panel hidden in the ceiling.

Crammed inside the compartment above writhes a wretched, malformed chimera. Fearful flames gust within its jaws. Smoke funnels out above.

“Why?” I manage, tremulous.

The Architect shrugs. “A smoking train. A classic image. It provides comfort.”

And he slides the panel gently shut.

© 2025. Timbray Shafer

Timbray Shafer is a traveling teacher and a devotee of carousels and birds. He is the author of The Rens series, Spare Mattress, Look at Mine, and more, including work in Apparition Lit, Every Day Fiction, and The Dribble Drabble Review.

Posted September 10, 2025.