Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Ecsis

n.
the haunting sense of mystery infused into certain random details that beckons you to wonder how it ended up here at this point in time—marveling at a patch of white on a dog’s chest, a bubble trapped in an old window, a glimpse of Saturn’s rings shivering in a telescope lens—knowing that behind the thing itself is a long chain of causes and effects that veers off into the shadows of prehistory, anchored somewhere near the dawn of time, even though the end result is somehow right there in front of you, shimmering in place.

Indonesian eksis, to exist, to be. Pronounced “ek-sis.”

Xeno

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

Ludiosis

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

Clockwise

a close-up of flower along with polaroid pictures

Moriturism

a person resting in the back seat of a car

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building