A bittersweet novella this short story follows the trans man Eris, in a very unaccepting world finding hope in the fairytale he found his name through, when he meets the angel from the fairytale. The angel Helge believes Eris is his past lover reincarnated. Soon they are falling in love, but the short stolen moments of peace and acceptance cannot blot out the immense amounts of hatred and repression Eris faces in his day-to-day life. And worse Helge keeps disappearing for long stretches of time.
The prose in this novella was utterly gorgeous, making for a very enjoyable reading experience without ever veering even close to purple prose territories. I also loved that we were able to dive deep into Eris’ head, experiencing his joy and grief and rage intimately.
I also found the worldbuilding really interesting, especially Eris’ job of bottling people’s grief and sorrows and the burden that places on him.
The relationship between Eris and Helge was sweet and erotic and I liked that both magic gender-affirmation was possible as well as gender-affirming language during erotic scenes allowing Eris to experience both forms of euphoria.
All in all, if you are looking for a short story exploring trans love and survival in a very prejudiced world, following a very traumatized main character as he grows into his identity and become secure in himself despite it all, then you will certainly have a fun time reading this story!