In tribute to Edward Gorey’s delightfully morbid alphabet, here’s a modern scroll through the glitches, ghosts, and group chats that consume our children. Pour one out for the Wi-Fi.

A is for Ava, who vanished mid-Zoom.
B is for Brayden, consumed by Axe perfume.
C is for Chloe, who became a meme.
D is for Dylan, devoured by a stream.

E is for Ella, who coded her end too fast.
F is for Finn, who misclicked at last.
G is for Gavin, who became an avatar.
H is for Harper, who Googled too far.

I is for Isabella, who vanished from class.
J is for Jaiden, who got trapped in the past.
K is for Kinsley, who uploaded to the cloud.
L is for Levi, who live-streamed the wrong crowd.

M is for Maddox, who mined through the night.
N is for Nova, who lost a chicken jockey fight.
O is for Olivia, who ghosted, unseen.
P is for Paisley, who glitched off the screen.

Q is for Quinn, who unplugged the arcade.
R is for Riley, who downloaded shade.
S is for Sadie, lost in the replies.
T is for Technoblade, who never dies.

U is for Uriah, who lagged in a game.
V is for Vince, who reset his own name.
W is for Wyatt, who bled out mid-text.
X is for Xavier, who hacked his soul through specs.
Y is for Yasmina, who danced last on the clock.
Z is for Zoe, who never trended on TikTok.

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Kristina Warlen writes literary and speculative fiction about memory, grief, intimacy, and emotional rupture. Her work blends realism with the uncanny and spans flash, microfiction, poetry, and kink-forward stories. Published in TWLOHA Blog, 50-Word Stories, Five Fleas, Paragraph Planet, and Corporeal, with work forthcoming in Eunoia Review, Blink-Ink, ScribesMICRO, and Right Hand Pointing.