Welcome to Lightspeed Magazine! We’re so happy to have “Shadows on the Pavement” as one of the Fantasy stories for this month.

Thank you! I’m delighted this piece found a home here. It was very much an experimental piece for me, and written during a period of exploration in my life—I’d just moved to Barcelona from India. I was raised in America and had visited other parts of Europe, but Spain was entirely new territory. I moved to Barcelona to be inspired, among other things, and writing a new story within the first couple of months proved my instinct right—it was liberating.

This is such a riveting read. What was it like for you to switch between the first person and the second person here? Did it come naturally?

Yes, it came naturally. The opening line was the first part of the story to pop into my head: “You are what blooms between my thoughts.” The rest simply spilled from there. It was evident to me from the beginning that this would be an intimate piece, spoken directly to the reader, a love letter of sorts. This form inherently permits a sharp connection between first and second person, allowing me to channel my pressing desperation and fear regarding climate change into an immediate, personal conversation.

The metaphors are so great. What do you think a good metaphor does when talking about climate change?

It brings climate change from the space of the abstract to something relatable, critical, and understood. Something concrete, if you will, that resonates viscerally.

In particular, the imagery of pavement dominated my thoughts while writing this piece—concrete is the most widely used human-made substance; it’s something most people have encountered in some form. And it isn’t biodegradable. I imagined concrete stifling the living, breathing earth beneath.

How central has listening been to your work as an artist?

Listening has been essential for me. I think it’s important for my artist self to still her thoughts and open herself up to let new perspectives and experiences sink in. I hope my art will evolve by my learning and nurturing empathy through listening.

It was even more relevant for this piece, since writing this coincided with my move to Barcelona. Listening was my compass as I navigated a different country, culture, and language.

Is there a project you are currently working on? And if not are there any themes, objects, or news that might be tickling your fingers?

I have several short fiction pieces in the works; most are part of a larger future history I am mapping for Earth. My stories in this universe include three novelettes in Clarkesworld, “Ask the Fireflies,” “An Ode to Stardust,” and “The Last Civilian.” They depict far future descendants of humans who’d fled into the stars from a dwindling Earth, mostly centered on a consortium of planets called the Archipelago. My Asimov’s piece, “Eternity is Moments,” is about those who were left behind.

The themes of these stories and those still gestating primarily revolve around my through-lines, which include identity, mental health, and different forms of love.

Beyond fiction, my STEM day-job self has been working on my freely available online book, Quantum Kittens, which teaches quantum computing to non-technical audiences through stories about cats.