Creative Nonfiction: In Which I Try To Be A Good Atheist

By Erin Copland

 

I’d like to look at the painting longer but my aunt finds it disgusting. Beautifully slaughtered meats hang prominent in the foreground – in the background: the Nativity scene.

I know my aunt prays for me. I know she prays for our family, and for Ukraine, and for feral cats. She doesn’t offer her prayers lightly. My aunt prays with her neck bent and her eyes closed, frowning as if her efforts are as physical as they are spiritual, as if God is whispering to her. She listens.

Later, in a different museum, my aunt tells our group that I can interpret paintings, find meaning in them, like you see people do on TV. They all turn to me, waiting. Trusting me to be the best version of myself.

 

 

 

 

 

Erin Copland is a writer and reader living in the Washington, DC area. She has, at various times, been an Army nurse, terrorism research assistant, and public affairs officer. She has half of a certificate in fiction writing from the Gotham Writers Workshop and has been published in outlets such as Unstamatic and Ink in Thirds. You can come watch her repost things on Bluesky @erincopland.bsky.social