{"id":81517,"date":"2026-06-04T22:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T01:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?p=81517"},"modified":"2026-06-04T22:00:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T01:00:41","slug":"summer-solstice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?p=81517","title":{"rendered":"Summer solstice"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>\"image_print\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Jane Nash: Story ‘Summer Solstice’

<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"Jane
Jane Nash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"
Imagem criada \u00b4pela IA do Gemini – https:\/\/gemini.google.com\/app\/fd33fed47b7365cd?utm_source=app_launcher&utm_medium=owned&utm_campaign=base_all<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I wake and she lifts me as easily as if this body of mine was but 9 years old. At 52 there is the usual overhang, newly forming jowls and in my case, a certain crustiness.  The morning sun spills through the wooden Venetian blinds onto the wooden floorboards. She places me feet first on strange shimmering fabric upon the warm bedroom floor. This material has no substance to it and is the most comfortable magnet you can imagine, tenderly pulling and gathering all that I have to give at the end of the night. I sleep in the warmth of my own snow. Criss-crossed flakes containing the blueprint of streets, the building blocks, the very form of me. Sloughing. It sounds smoother than the actuality of removal. I shed for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was the cause of my own discovery. Picking and stripping tiny pieces of my own skin as it flaked and cracked upon my body was bound to leave a trail like winter\u2019s frosty remnants. But no balls of fun and hilarity are the result of such conditions. Instead, I am reduced to insect bait. I am motioned not to scratch lest I lose the finest rubbings – lacewings drop from the skin on my forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a delicacy or at least, is my skin. Not the pink healthy, pig-like thick dermis but the sick, the weak, probably diseased part of me. You should be farmed and managed<\/em>, she whispers to me as she pulls the crusts from my eyebrows. Once thick, striking, beautiful, youthful and definitive, they now resemble the torment of singeing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 By some form of recompense she lulls me to sleep when I take my siesta. She breathes with me.  She has taken me into her confidence. I cannot betray her. We have fallen into a strange symbiosis although I\u2019m not entirely sure it manifests the correct or required balance.  I am also too tired and too bloody sore to fight her any more. We have become co-dependent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During lockdown she would crawl in through the open window in the attic in the dead of night so not to be spotted. She became more real now that lockdown had stolen the space for private vanities. Shape shifter. Her length denies imagination in negotiating those only slightly open windows. Now she steals my steroids and antibiotics, replacing them with  night candy and I grow more for her. My doctors can\u2019t fathom why I don\u2019t heal. I\u2019m a rarity she says. I try not to lose sight that I am her delicacy, she is not doing me a favour and this might never end. But it will. Soon there will be a thickening and that\u2019s not her predilection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This morning I\u2019m wondering, as she looks disappointed with my offering, is there a network of them? How do they communicate? Will a different one come to harvest my scar tissue? It strikes me as being more painful. Not that this is – it\u2019s just strange. The talons at the base of her wrists scoop and drag each fragment of rice-paper thin skin which threatens to leave me. Once renewed, taut, it pulls and cracks and in that instance of striking pain comes the relief of every teenaged cutter who doesn\u2019t understand the processes of their pre-frontal cortex, of their amygdala, of their fight and flight responses.  I\u2019m flying now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she first found me my heart stopped. The same way it stops when you find a leech on the back of your calf muscle, barely feeling it but sickening you all the same.  I was patting my skin dry on stepping out of the shower. I thought it to be my lover behind the frosted glass door but she had forgotten herself and was gathering the remnants of my DNA from my clothes left upon the bathroom floor. At 6ft 4, bent over like an aluminium tent frame, the iridescent patches, sensors, flashed and blinked like the perfect fly\u2019s eyes. Multiplied. It has no face and I call it she because her touch is tender and considered. She has never made me bleed. That\u2019s just the natural order of being stripped clean of loose, crusted skin every morning, every evening, every time I am alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first I thought her to be a hallucination. I spoke to my shrink who gently considered which medications I needed to change. But I knew she was real when I saw the photos I took of my hands and face every week. Evidence is undeniable. I am being cultivated, harvested. Faceless, she makes me feel comfortable. I can imagine she\u2019s some kind of exotic otherworld insect but once she\u2019s sated, that\u2019s when I feel afraid. That\u2019s when I close my eyes and wait for the night to roll into my mind. She quivers, each sensor on her body assimilating each crumb of me and she emits a bismuth light and for thirty terrifying seconds, she becomes a gossamer pyramid, enclosing each fallen scrap of me like organza crystals and emits an eery sound akin to the calling of the wind through the broken milk bottles of my youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Jane Nash<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

JaneNash.com <\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Instagram<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Blog<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Voltar<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Acordo e ela me levanta com a mesma facilidade como se este meu corpo tivesse apenas 9 anos. Aos 52, h\u00e1 a habitual flacidez, as papadas rec\u00e9m-formadas e, no…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":81520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sem-categoria"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":224,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/29f5c643-078e-4510-8484-dd869564aaa9.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":79659,"url":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?p=79659","url_meta":{"origin":81517,"position":0},"title":"Red patent leather shoes","author":"Jane Nash","date":"30 de mar\u00e7o de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Jane Nash: 'Red patent leather shoes' Jane Nash Imagem gerada por IA da Gemini - https:\/\/gemini.google.com\/app\/36406a29ddd907aa?utm_source=app_launcher&utm_medium=owned&utm_campaign=base_all The light of each moment escapes her eyes and drops like Swarovski\u2019s most delicate crystal tears upon the place beneath. The fairy hair of a three year old. She is blond from the summer\u2026","rel":"","context":"Em "Contos"","block_context":{"text":"Contos","link":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?cat=9607"},"img":{"alt_text":"Imagem gerada por IA da Gemini - https:\/\/gemini.google.com\/app\/36406a29ddd907aa?utm_source=app_launcher&utm_medium=owned&utm_campaign=base_all","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6229150a-0ac2-4dc3-8803-f22e72226aff.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6229150a-0ac2-4dc3-8803-f22e72226aff.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6229150a-0ac2-4dc3-8803-f22e72226aff.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6229150a-0ac2-4dc3-8803-f22e72226aff.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":80772,"url":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?p=80772","url_meta":{"origin":81517,"position":1},"title":"Foxes","author":"Jane Nash","date":"13 de maio de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Tudo come\u00e7a quando m\u00e3os astutas arrancam produtos est\u00e1ticos, supermercado, banca de jornal, a televis\u00e3o com legendas, registrando cada gesto, cada movimento...","rel":"","context":"Em "Literatura"","block_context":{"text":"Literatura","link":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?cat=9285"},"img":{"alt_text":"Imagem criada pelo ChatGPT - https:\/\/chatgpt.com\/c\/6a046d80-44e8-83e9-b40e-6d59a8afe405","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dc9a3276-9e07-4f6f-a239-777e043eaf06.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dc9a3276-9e07-4f6f-a239-777e043eaf06.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dc9a3276-9e07-4f6f-a239-777e043eaf06.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dc9a3276-9e07-4f6f-a239-777e043eaf06.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dc9a3276-9e07-4f6f-a239-777e043eaf06.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dc9a3276-9e07-4f6f-a239-777e043eaf06.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":78584,"url":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?p=78584","url_meta":{"origin":81517,"position":2},"title":"Da Inglaterra ao ROL, Jane Nash!","author":"Sergio Diniz da Costa","date":"18 de fevereiro de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Jane Nash, natural de Stocton-On-Tees, Inglaterra, e residindo atualmente em Yorkeys Knob, Austr\u00e1lia, \u00e9 escritora e poetisa, comprometida com o processo...","rel":"","context":"Em "Apresenta\u00e7\u00e3o de colunista"","block_context":{"text":"Apresenta\u00e7\u00e3o de colunista","link":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?cat=10981"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aa058a16-d0bf-4b5d-a4ac-74a3ed2dae81.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aa058a16-d0bf-4b5d-a4ac-74a3ed2dae81.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aa058a16-d0bf-4b5d-a4ac-74a3ed2dae81.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aa058a16-d0bf-4b5d-a4ac-74a3ed2dae81.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79811,"url":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?p=79811","url_meta":{"origin":81517,"position":3},"title":"Tapestry of magic","author":"Jane Nash","date":"6 de abril de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Of the sea and the sky hands weave details beyond the ordinary fibres sourced from many places blankets my background I have become accustomed to it","rel":"","context":"Em "Literatura"","block_context":{"text":"Literatura","link":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?cat=9285"},"img":{"alt_text":"Imagem gerada pelo ChatGPT - https:\/\/chatgpt.com\/c\/69d3b90c-94f8-83e9-939c-8783018482af","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3beb3c42-9aa7-4625-ad83-ad39e4cb54e2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3beb3c42-9aa7-4625-ad83-ad39e4cb54e2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3beb3c42-9aa7-4625-ad83-ad39e4cb54e2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3beb3c42-9aa7-4625-ad83-ad39e4cb54e2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79825,"url":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?p=79825","url_meta":{"origin":81517,"position":4},"title":"Na Arte do Leitor, as telas da colunista Jane Nash!","author":"Sergio Diniz da Costa","date":"6 de abril de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A transbordante sensibilidade liter\u00e1ria de Jane irradiou para a as telas e h\u00e1 tr\u00eas anos, apesar de n\u00e3o saber desenhar, dedicou-se \u00e0 arte do desenho e da pintura.","rel":"","context":"Em "A Arte do Leitor"","block_context":{"text":"A Arte do Leitor","link":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?cat=14883"},"img":{"alt_text":"Townville","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image5.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image5.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image5.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":78997,"url":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?p=78997","url_meta":{"origin":81517,"position":5},"title":"Perfect day","author":"Jane Nash","date":"9 de mar\u00e7o de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Coarse hair against hair against hair. Fingers drum down my scalp. Sleepy eyes open the clock is early. The shower blanket drains over fleshy me...","rel":"","context":"Em "Literatura"","block_context":{"text":"Literatura","link":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/?cat=9285"},"img":{"alt_text":"Imagem gerada por IA do Grok - https:\/\/grok.com\/imagine\/post\/1e2a24ed-3810-4b34-8234-7296950c7d9c","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/download-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/download-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/download-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jornalrol.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/download-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81517"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81524,"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81517\/revisions\/81524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/81520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jornalrol.com.br\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}