Milkiverse

A neurodiverse woman working at a cereal bar discovers that sipping her customers’ leftover cereal milk allows her to enter alternate worlds in which she is finally happy in this amazing new work of "healing fiction."

Twenty-seven year-old cereal bar worker Beverly “Bev” Kitsuragi struggles to connect with people around her. Her small world is populated by: her coworker Raf, a quiet ex-con; her other coworker, Sylvie, a cute but sardonic college student; and lastly, her roommate, Naoko, a copy editor for a book publisher. Lost, she is desperate to finish writing her debut novel about a boy she romantically scorned in her first year of college—she wants to complete it as an apology to him before she turns twenty-eight, ten years later. Then, one day, Bev discovers she can enter alternate timelines by drinking other people’s leftover cereal milk.

In these alternate timelines, Bev discovers connections that seem impossible in life, including a bond with a sandy-haired customer she’s had a long-term crush on. In another, she’s an MFA student rooming with Sylvie, who says they’re best friends. However, as she gets deeper into these alternate worlds, she finds even they begin to go horribly wrong. 

Between these magical experiences, real-world Bev attempts to salvage her world before she loses everything.Kelly Murashige was born and raised in Hawaiʻi. A lifelong reader, she writes contemporary fiction with fantastical twists rooted in Japanese mythology and culture. Though she can be shy, she loves obsessing over books and video games. You can visit her online at www.kellymurashige.com.