RejectionThirteen- The Nightmare Animals

Today I sent out a short story.

I haven’t written much in the last two years.
Not because the stories disappeared, but because life got loud, heavy, and inconvenient.

In that time, I’ve submitted exactly one short story.
It got rejected.

And somehow, that single rejection became a wall instead of a door.

So today wasn’t just about submitting The Nightmare Animals to Horrorsmith Publishing.
It was about stepping back into a room I wasn’t sure I still belonged in.

I hit send anyway.

Maybe it gets accepted.
Maybe it gets rejected.
Either way, something important already happened:
I’m writing again.