the winter anthology
Vol. 12
Iván Repila
from The Boy Who Stole
Attila’s Horse
“you should know, brother, that I am the boy who stole Attila’s horse to make shoes out of his hooves, and in that way ensure that wherever I set foot the grass would no longer grow. The vilest of men fear me, as they fear the scourge of the gods, because I dried out their land and their seed in my vast wanderings across the world.”
“Did you do it alone?”
“With the Huns.”
“Who are the Huns?”
“Attila’s soldiers. When he died many of them tore pieces of flesh from themselves. I’m also missing pieces of flesh, only you can’t see because they’re missing from the inside.”