Aulasy

a blurry image of a house on the road

Aulasy

n.
the sadness that there’s no way to convey a powerful memory to people who weren’t there at the time—driving past your childhood home to show it to a friend, or pointing at a picture of a loved one you lost, only to realize that to them it’s just another house, just another face.

A contraction of auld lang syne, which is Scots for “times long past”—fragments of which are still present in aulasy, but the meaning has been lost. Pronounced “awl-uh-see.”

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Etterath

a graduation cap and gown on a chair

Spinning Playback Head

silhouette of a person looking out a window

Kerisl

piles of old books scattered in an abandoned room

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Solla, Solla, Solla

a hand reaching out for plant tendril

O’Erpine

a person looking at a grave

Cullaways

a lone sand castle on a beach at low tide

Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

Present-Tense

a close-up of a stopwatch

Anchorage

a person's arm extended over river rapids

Affogatia

miscellaneous items on a table

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Heart Of Aces

a person covering their eyes with their hands

Halfwise

a train coming towards the camera shot from the tracks

Fellchaser

a blurred shadow of a person in a dark room

Keta

a hand reaching through paper with a flower drawing

Nowlings

a pile of black and white puzzle pieces

Anaphasia

Cover image for the Anaphasia word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Dystoria

close up of water drops on a window

Idlewild

Cover image for the Idlewild word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Gobo

Cover image for the Gobo word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Ioia

Cover image for the Ioia word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Fardle-Din

Cover image for the Fardle-Din word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Aubadoir

Cover image for the Aubadoir word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Latigo

aerial view of a city at night

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear