Author Note:
 
This text was originally a small stand alone chapter in my 2022 novel When We Lost Our Heads. In the late 1880s, when the novel is set, half the babies born in the poor quarters of Montreal passed away in early childhood. It was meant to convey the feeling of living in such a world. And the beauty and solemnity of short stays on earth. All children are immortal and their lives cannot be calculated by our measurements of time. My US editor said the chapter had to go. As it was far too sad for readers. Here it is now, if you can handle the melancholy. It is dedicated to children who were only ever children.
 
- Heather O'Neill
 
5" x 7" zine, made for Montreal Expozine 2024, riso printed, limited edition.