"When It Ends, He Catches Her" is a 2014 science fiction short story by Eugie Foster. It was first published on Daily Science Fiction, on September 26, 2014When It Ends, He Catches Her, by Eugie Foster, at Daily Science Fiction; published September 26, 2014; retrieved June 26, 2015—the day before Foster's death. An audio version (read by Tina Connolly) was subsequently made available via Pseudopod,Pseudopod 428: When It Ends, He Catches Her, at Pseudopod; published March 6, 2015; retrieved June 26, 2015 and the story was included in the 2015 Long List Anthology: More Stories from the Hugo Awards Nomination ListLong List Anthology Published, by Mike Glyer, at File 770; published December 15, 2015; retrieved May 9, 2016 and Nebula Awards Showcase 2016.
Synopsis Before civilization fell to a plague of zombies, Aisa was a ballet dancer. Now, she spends her time in an abandoned theater, dancing on an abandoned stage for an imaginary audience.
Reception "Catches" was nominated for the 2015 Theodore Sturgeon AwardFINALISTS: 2015 The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, by Kristin Centorcelli; at SF Signal; published May 13, 2015; retrieved June 26, 2015 and the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Short Story;Announcing the 2014 Nebula Awards Winners!, at Tor.com; published June 6, 2015; retrieved June 26, 2015 Ursula Vernon, who won that award instead, has stated that she had expected "Catches" would win.Nebula Award, by Ursula Vernon, at Livejournal; published June 8, 2015; retrieved June 26, 2015 Jason Sanford called it "a beautiful elegy on life and death", and "both touching and disturbing."Remembering Eugie Foster and her stories, by Jason Sanford, at JasonSanford.com; published March 4, 2015; retrieved June 27, 2015
As well, analysis of the nominations for the 2015 Hugo Awards has shown that, if it were not for the involvement of the Sad Puppies, "Catches" would have been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.This Is What The 2015 Hugo Ballot Should Have Been, by Andrew Liptak, at Io9; published August 23, 2015; retrieved August 23, 2015
References