‘Cipher’ by Susan Pieters

Out of the Blue

From Pulp Literature Issue 50, read an excerpt of ‘Cipher’ by founding editor Susan Pieters below. Want to know how this story ends? Be sure to read it in full by picking up a copy of Issue 50, Spring 2026!

Cipher

by Susan Pieters

It’s the optimistic blue that makes me feel I’m truly flying back home to Holland. On the tall stewardess, the distinctive cerulean uniform sets off her blonde hair and pale eyes. KLM blue is the classic hue of the bright and shiny 1950s automobiles I remember from my childhood, and it promises an artificial yet stubborn happiness.

My sister Trudi greets me at Schiphol airport with a brisk triple-cheek kiss. It’s a modern trend; people our age used to stop at two kisses. She smells of soap, the air around us is freshly washed by a storm, and even the shining polished floors seem to give off the scent of home.

I start speaking in Dutch, but Trudi replies in English. It’s our private sibling battle. She claims I’ve developed an American accent over the years.

Just like on my last visit, she helps me lift my suitcase and rolls her eyes when it barely fits in her trunk. “You’re too old to carry so much luggage,” she chides.

“I’m too old not to,” I reply, as she gets in the driver’s seat.

She accepts my money for the parkade. “Before we drive to Rotterdam, we have a stop to make. Someone emailed when I posted the family reunion online. They want to meet you.”

“Long-lost cousin?” I’m nearly eighty, but it’s still fun to find relatives.

“I’m not sure. She’s a curator at the art museum.”

“The Rijksmuseum?”

“Nee, the modern art museum, the Stedelijk.” Trudi takes her hand off the gear-shift to pinch me. She knows I prefer the old Dutch masters. “You’ll survive.”

Read the rest of this story in Pulp Literature Issue 50, Spring 2026!

And a reminder that the Kingfisher Poetry Prize opens TOMORROW! Find all the details, and enter, here.

Susan Pieters has travelled twice to Holland with her Dutch husband, both times without mishap or adventure, so she decided to invent something ‘out of the blue’. For more of Sue’s short fiction and to find out when her novel might eventually, actually, really, finally get published, visit susanpieters.com.