Photo by: Matthew Wright
Saying Goodbye
Harry and Fitz stopped in front of a sign covered in warnings.
“Wave Pattern Unpredictable” pointed Harry, leaning on his cane. “Do you think?”
Fitz scratched at his short salt-n-pepper beard. “Idling grav-projectors could cause that.”
“Indicating the presence of an interstellar drive, right?” mused Harry.
Fitz pulled out an alien sensor. He pressed a stud and holographic sensor readings opened. “Look!” He pointed at the display.
“My God! We’ve finally found it.”
“We hid our spaceship so good, even we couldn’t find it,” said Fitz.
“We’re no longer stranded!” enthused Harry. “We can go home.”
“You know,” grinned Fitz. “When we step into the ship, the temporal stasis field will reverse all our aging. We’ll be young again!”
“We can finally get off this low-tech, backward, barbaric planet.”
“No more crooked politicians.”
“No more creaking joints!”
Harry sighed. “Madison will be crushed when I leave. I’ll miss her pot roast.”
Fitz nodded. “Annette will be so lonely. I’ll miss her peach cobbler.”
“No more backyard barbeques.”
“No more pistachio ice cream.”
Harry looked at Fitz. “We don’t have to go back, today do we?”
“Nah. We need to make proper goodbyes.”
Thirty years later, they were still saying goodbye.
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This is the second writing challenge from author Matthew Wright. Everyone is welcome to join in and write up to 200 words of flash fiction from a photo prompt. Check it out right here: https://mjwrightnz.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/another-super-short-mega-story-writing-challenge/
EagleAye
Good stuff, Eric. As a storyteller, you really know how to elicit a knowing smile or laugh while driving home (if you’ll excuse the almost pun there) an emotional message–a lesson that could, in less skillful hands, tilt into the maudlin or too far into melancholy. And all that while there’s an interesting plot to move the reader along. Bravo!
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Thanks for the glowing critique, Leigh! I do appreciate the kind words. I hope I don’t stray into the melancholy too often. I’d rather leave readers with satisfied smiles if I can. Much appreciated! 🙂
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Yeah, most definitely not melancholy (wistful sometimes, nostalgic too, but not lingered upon). That’s just one reason why, I think, I appreciate your work. It’s quite different from mine, in many ways, and is a respite from the world’s trials and tribulations (that I so often am drawn toward depicting). It’s good to smile and laugh. Thank you! 🙂
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Well, thank you. It’s my pleasure to provide a respite and plenty of smiles. 🙂
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You drive the message straight… Brilliant narration
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Thanks so much! 🙂
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I guess it is true, home is where the heart is. Loved this story.
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I think that’s always true. Sometimes a place can become an “adopted home.” Thanks so much! 🙂
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Another brilliant story! You really have a talent for writing great stuff – where’s that novel? 🙂 Funnily enough, there’s a pub about 100 yards from the sign that serves up excellent roasts… 🙂
There’s a curious history to this area. Way back, the district behind where I was standing was a major Maori habitation – we think one of the first in New Zealand after the Polynesian settlement around 1280. Around 1460 a massive earthquake tore across the entire region, which was so dramatic Maori named it: Haowhenua – ‘The Land Swallower’. This was unusual: there were many quakes and this is the only one to have been carried in the oral history. And it was kind of ironic; the quake lifted the Wellington area nearby – the valley floor where Peter Jackson’s film studio complex sits now was raised, for instance. But Maori considered it ‘ate’ the land. Paradox? Apparently. But the mystery’s solved by what was happening in the area around this sign. The quake provoked immense tidal waves – 30 feet or more – which tore inland and destroyed the whole horticultural area. Maori didn’t care that the Miramar island had become a swamp, but the land that most counted was swallowed…
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Thanks so much. You’re making me blush. 🙂 That is an awesome history. I know you’ve written a ton of books about New Zealand, but your encyclopedic knowledge never ceases to amaze me. The story about the “Haowhenua” is really interesting. I imagine something like that would be proof of Angry Gods to a stone-age people. No surprises, the event lived on in the oral history. And to hear how it affected a movie much later on is so cool. Love this stuff, Matt. Thanks much!
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Aww..now that is love. 🙂
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Indeed. They’d become comfortable and happy. 😉
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