Soodapod is extruded into this universe from a dimension of purest fear. It's beautiful

in its own alien way. But what's to come will unsettle you.

Soodapod Episode 745 February 19th 2021. This week's story Cleaver, Meet, and Block,

Maria Haskins. Hey everyone, welcome to Soodapod, the weekly horror podcast. I'm Alistair

your host and this week's story Cleaver, Meet, and Block was originally published in Black

Static 73 in January 2020. You're reader is Larissa Thompson and it comes to you from

the amazing Maria Haskins, who is not just a phenomenal short fiction writer in her own

right, but a fearsome advocate for the craft and of discussion and promotion of short

fiction and I'm always so happy to see her here. So without further ado, they have a

story for you and they promise you it's true.

Cleaver, Meet, and Block by Maria Haskins. Narrated by Larissa Thompson. The first thing

Hannah learned when she came to live with her grandparents after the plague was how to

wield the Meet Cleaver. Grandma taught her, guiding her hands in the back room of the old

butcher shop on Main Street, showing her how to wrap her fingers around the handle, how

to put her thumb on the spine of the handle for extra power and precision, how to let her

wrist pivot when she cuts.

You don't need to be strong, Grandma said. The weight of the blade, the sharpness of the

edge, is enough.

This past Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa gave Hannah a cleaver of her own. When she unwrapped

it, Grandpa was already apologizing for not getting her new clothes or makeup or jewelry,

even though such things are hard to come by these days. Hannah didn't know how to tell

him she'd never received a better gift in all her fourteen years.

...