A Neon Palms Motel Short Story
 
Gallery artist Stella Kane flees to the Neon Palms Motel after her latest exhibition exposes her hometown's darkest secrets, seeking refuge by the kidney-shaped pool where reality bends like heat waves. When she encounters Tony Ricci, a mysterious mechanic hiding his own corporate past, their passionate encounter during a supernatural thunderstorm reveals alternate versions of themselves reflected in the pool's depths—glimpses of the teacher she abandoned and the lawyer he left behind. In this steamy tale of transformation and desire, Stella must choose between the cynical artist who paints ugly truths and the woman who once dreamed of teaching children to see the world in colors, as heat lightning illuminates the space between who we are and who we might still become.