"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, 2014[1] —the day before Foster's death. An audio version (read by Tina Connolly) was subsequently made available via Pseudopod,[2] and the story was included in the 2015 Long List Anthology: More Stories from the Hugo Awards Nomination List[3] and Nebula Awards Showcase 2016.
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.
"Catches" was nominated for the 2015 Theodore Sturgeon Award[4] and the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Short Story;[5] Ursula Vernon, who won that award instead, has stated that she had expected "Catches" would win.[6] Jason Sanford called it "a beautiful elegy on life and death", and "both touching and disturbing."[7]
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.[8]