Observations of The Urban Spaceman 
Liar [Flash Fiction]
Elise dragged her chair to the window and turned her gaze to the sky. By the sickly glow of the dying streetlight, she looked younger than her eight years, and when she closed her eyes and clasped her hands together in prayer, Michael’s heart broke for his daughter.
Finished with her prayer, she turned to him with the question he’d been dreading since the blizzard started, five days ago.
“Papa, do you think the sun will come back tomorrow?”
“Yes, Kitten, of course it will,” he lied.
Word count: 87
Today’s Friday Fictioneers story, courtesy of Rochelle Wisoff-fields, is inspired by the featured image ©Dale Rogerson. Last week, I didn’t manage to get around to reading/commenting on every story on from Friday Fictioneers 😥 — so, this week I’ll prioritise reading/commenting first on the odd-numbered stories, then next week I’ll be doing the same for the even-numbered stories.
If your blog is hosted on Blogger/Blogspot, I won’t be able to comment on your story. Blogspot/Blogger just sends me on an indefinite loop of proving I’m not a robot whenever I try to comment on their hosted sites.
Click the frog to read more Friday Fictioneers stories:
Glorken
The Urban Spaceman
Observations of The Urban Spaceman 
Heartbreaking little story. Makes me think of David Bowie’s Five Years. Another heartbreaking story.
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One of this few times when a lie is excusable. Besides I think Elise knows the truth and is just asking her Daddy to let him not know that she knows, because he is glad she is too little to know the truth. So I would call her the really liar or the bluffer. 😀 Wonderful piece 🙂
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Thank you. Sometimes, children just want to be comforted, and a lie can be a comfort when times are dark 🙂
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Excellent writing, Varad. As Rochelle said, you set this one up nicely. Well done.
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Glad it tickled your fancy, Russell!
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I’m thinking either nuclear winter or catastrophic climate change. Maybe it’s not snow at all but a blizzard of ash… nice one!
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I had nuclear winter in my mind when I wrote it, but catastrophic climate change would also be apt 🙂
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well done
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Poor Elise! No hope or a ray of sunshine in her world. Nicely done.
Click to read: https://normashilpi.wordpress.com/2018/02/11/a-story-to-tell/
Thanks,
Norma.
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Awwe, that was so touching.
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🙂
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You said so much with those final few words. Interesting.
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Excellent piece. 🙂 … first time through I ‘read’ the blizzard starting ‘five years ago’ rather than ‘five days’ … which would’ve been cool too. 😀
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Yes, it would! Maybe i should have written that
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Wonderfully told. And yes, very bleak…
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What a sad story. You’ve constructed it beautifully, and chosen your words very carefully – sickly glow, dying streetlight. Excellent!
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Thanks, I’m glad you liked it.
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Not a time that he can flippantly tell her ‘It’s not the end of the world’ when she next spills her juice then? Lovely description 🙂
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Oh dear. So many levels of emotion here, in so few words. Well done.
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Nuclear Winter? Nah… more like my winter.
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I thought this was about climate change, and the fact that the weather seems to be so distorted. There are so many ramifications captured in this little piece.
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The awful dilemma for a parent. It’s one thing for an individual to deal with desperate circumstances but, where a child is concerned it is excruciatingly difficult. Such powerful writing – my mind is reeling!
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Thank you, Edith, I’m glad the story gave you something to think about!
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Hmm, no ray of sunshine in this story.
Excellent piece.
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Thank you!
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Poor Elise – how long before he has to break the truth to her, or has she already perhaps realised? Good stuff.
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I have to assume the Sun is still really there, otherwise everyone would already be dead. Nuclear winter perhaps?
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That’s what I was thinking as I wrote the piece, but I didn’t want to state nuclear winter outright in case it sounded a bit trite.
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Such a dreadful prospect, isn’t it. I’ve been watching the Hard Sun series, and found that very disturbing, the idea that one day it might not be there.
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Yes, and even though I (hopefully) won’t be around to witness the end of the sun, I hope humankind has moved on to bigger and better things by then.
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Oh, I wasn’t expecting that dystopian ending. Masterfully done.
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Thank you, Claire! 🙂
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A killer last line
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Dear Spaceman,
There’s a lot of story between the lines and a few questions in this reader’s mind. Love the set up. The picture you’ve painted of little Elise is both adorable and haunting. Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you, Rochelle. There’s nothing quite as endearing as a young child’s hope in the face of adversity.
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A bleak, dystopian piece. Nicely done, Spaceman.
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Thanks, Varad, that’s the feeling I was going for. 🙂
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