Correspondence:
Christopher James

Founder & Editor, Jellyfish Review

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1 APRIL 2022, JAKARTA

Dear Jiksun,

Your letter took me a little by surprise—I don’t remember sending you a jellyfish! However, it didn’t seem like something you’d have made up, so I went straight to the tank and yes, one of the jellies is gone. I guess I must’ve sent it to you. How strange that I would forget! Unless—

No. It couldn’t be that. That wouldn’t be possible.

But maybe it is.

Just in case—I figure I should warn you of something. The jelly you received—Neetchy—is not like the other jellies. While they float up and down and up and down like the beautiful beings they are, Neetchy will stay completely still. It’s almost like she’s watching me. Watching you now, I suppose. And sometimes, I think she can read my mind. Sometimes, I think she possesses great powers.

But hey, you didn’t write to hear me rambling on about my paranoid fantasies. You wanted to know about my desk. I’ve jotted down some notes for you. I hope they’re useful or interesting or both.

The desk. I don’t have a desk or a regular place to write or work, but I sometimes set up a box in the living room and plomp my laptop there. Other times I work in bed, or in a coffee shop, or if I have a long weekend maybe out in the mountains.

I have curated a few of the things that normally surround me while I read submissions or write or put Jellyfish Review together:

1. The coffee pot and coffee cup. Coffee is essential, preferably drunk out of something with a face. Face not pictured.

2. The koala. Like many handsome people, I get very very shy about having my picture taken, so usually, in lieu of author/editor photos, I send magazines a picture of this cute guy instead.

3. The groundcherries. I snack constantly on vegetables and fruit.

4. The picture. A few years ago, Jellyfish Review ran a series of pro-choice stories and one of the artworks we used was a portrait of Vartoosh by Arshille Gorky. I liked it so much I painted—tried to paint—my own version. She normally lives on a shelf high up on my living room wall, and she’s looking down at me now. Probably wondering why I sent you that jellyfish!

5. The wooden toy. I like putting together three-dimensional wooden puzzles. You can see a little Ferris wheel hiding behind me in this picture. Alongside watching K-dramas, this has been one of my pandemic hobbies. I also have a marble run, a carousel, and a robot arm that draws horses’ heads.

6. The sarong. In Salvador, Brazil, people sell Bonfim ribbons. You tie them round your wrist with three knots and make a wish for each knot. When the ribbon finally breaks, the wishes will come true. When this sarong finally breaks, I’m going to have a billion wishes come true all at the same time. You’re going to see world peace, the end of suffering, and my best-selling novel winning a Nobel prize.

7. The books. Of course, books.

You might have noticed my hair’s gotten pretty long as well—I haven’t cut it since the panini started. Please don’t judge me for that.

You asked if I ever dream about the stories I read. Not exactly, but they can seep in. Like the time I read a book where time traveled backwards, and afterwards I expected everything to run the wrong way round. I’d look at a car on the road and be surprised it was traveling forward. This lasted for a few days. Crossing the road was a nightmare.

But no, I don’t think I dream about the stories. In fact, I hardly ever remember my dreams. I don’t think I’ve even had a dream for a long time. Now that I come to think of it, I have not dreamed since I first got Neetchy.

Oh.

Well, that has me wondering.

Sincerely yours,
Christopher James

BIOGRAPHIES

Christopher James lives, works and writes in Jakarta, Indonesia and has had work published online with Tin House, SmokeLong, Wigleaf, Booth, Fanzine and more. He founded and edits Jellyfish Review.

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Jiksun Cheung is EIC of The Bureau Dispatch.