The Tooth that Told the Truth

Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen proves that yes they do indeed after reading her short story entitled The Survivor's Ball or The Donner Party.

The story hooks you instantly as we are thrown into a situation already transpiring with two friends who met by happenstance during their course of travel. Jasper, one of the two main characters, has a broken molar which has become the acting "little voice in the back of his head." The time is not really made clear yet it must be sometime in the mid 20th century as they are driving along a wintered, winding road in search of a hotel. The relationship between Jasper and Serena is juxtaposed with the twisting and turning road in which they are traveling. Outwardly, it's platonic but Link avails little hints between the two that suggest it building into something more serious.

They swerve to miss a random, road rug-rat that sends them off the road into a ditch which seems to parallel with Jasper's uncertainty about the whole situation. The parallel structure juxtaposed with the other character makes for an intricate blue print in this telling. Link brings the two about as they find themselves at a hotel mingling with a group of elegant yet sketchy characters who seem to be hiding something larger. The leader or MC of the gathering, Mr. Donner, is conveyed as a multi-faceted character who Link uses to hint at what's really going on but not enough to make it too obvious.

Link's use of Magical Realism is dashed on the platter for flavor as Serena disappears into the hoard of guests followed by a wolf's howl in a land of Marsupials.