THE DIAGNOSIS

“The headaches that haunted Maria for the last six months had come unannounced and awoken her when she least expected it. This morning, she had dreamt of dogs running past her childhood home, and as she turned around to catch the smallest one behind her, he transformed into a big beast who opened its mouth and swallowed her whole.”

Originally published in huizache, fall 2024

ROLANDO RODRIGUEZ is an artist from Los Angeles, California, whose works in prose and film include The Diagnosis, The Healing Song, La Jaula or: the american dream, Calavera, and Malte. His short fiction has been published in Huizache and Boston Review, shortlisted for the Aura Estrada Short Story Contest and the Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize. For his feature-length screenplay, he was named a Notable Writer in the Outfest Screenwriting Lab. His work explores memory and identity as the son of Salvadoran immigrants. He studied Architecture at Columbia University in the City of New York and is on REDCAT staff at California Institute of the Arts.