Mirari Revel stories are short, queer, speculative fiction stories meant to be read in one sitting.
Zulpha has just moved into a small apartment in Woodstock, Cape Town — away from her parents, their questions, and the version of herself she's spent a lifetime pretending to be. She doesn't have much. She doesn't need much. She barely has the energy to unpack.
Then, behind a wooden board propped against the kitchen wall, she finds a door that shouldn't exist.
On the twentieth floor of a building that overlooks an alley, there is no reason for a door to be there. But the ornate bronze key on her keyring opens it. And what's on the other side is something completely impossible.
Zulpha pulls up a chair.
Woodstock Wonderwall is a quiet, aching story about what happens when we glimpse the life we've been too afraid to claim. Set against the vivid backdrop of Cape Town's gentrifying neighbourhoods, it follows Zulpha, a young Cape Malay woman navigating depression, isolation, and a queer identity her family refuses to acknowledge, as a strange magical door becomes the only window into a world where someone like her gets to be happy.
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Beautiful, honest story telling by Shaheena that's almost poetic. The imagery is vivid, the Cape Town culture piercing the pages with its authenticity. Shaheena shows us not just the physical margins within which Zulpha has had to live within at her parents home, but demonstrates how that has influenced the mental restrictions she has placed upon herself. This forces the reader to confront a painful question: are we truly limited as the products of the environments we are exposed to or do we have the ability to grow beyond these perimeters?
I found this story to be quite thought provoking. The author shows us what life is like when you choose to look at a life you wish for yourself, instead of living the life you want. And I absolutely love that it is set in Woodstock and that the dialogue is so very Cape Town.
I'm looking forward to more form Shaheena Links, which is the perfect author name, just so by the way :)
This story is so wholesome, set in an area we are familiar and grew up with. The characters were relatable as a person of colour in Cape Town and I loved seeing the representation of the culture. I absolutely loved this concept! I won't give away spoilers but will say I think the author did a fantastic job with the ending. I was hooked from beginning to end 💕