The Pigeon

Some questions never announce themselves. A pigeon on a distant ledge. A mind that begins to drift away from itself. The lingering scent of lavender that refuses to let the past remain buried. In these three quietly unsettling stories, E.B. Harding explores the fragile space between ordinary moments and the profound questions they awaken. In The Pigeon, an ordinary morning becomes the beginning of an unexpected existential journey when a young web designer becomes inexplicably obsessed with a pigeon perched on a building across the street. As the bird disappears—and later returns—he is forced to confront uncertainty, anxiety, and the uncomfortable realization that life cannot always be explained. In Dissociate, reality itself begins to fracture as memory, identity, and perception slowly separate. What begins as a subtle unease grows into a deeply personal exploration of consciousness and the fear of becoming a stranger to yourself. In Lavender, a familiar scent unlocks emotions that have waited quietly beneath the surface for years, revealing how memory can comfort, deceive, and ultimately reshape who we are. Written with restraint, warmth, and quiet humor, these stories examine the moments most people overlook—the conversations, routines, and ordinary encounters that unexpectedly reveal something essential about being human. For readers who enjoy thoughtful literary fiction, psychological fiction, and contemplative stories in the tradition of writers such as Raymond Carver, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Fredrik Backman, The Pigeon and Other Stories is a meditation on identity, memory, love, and the search for meaning in everyday life.