Story Time, Volume 14
This week's Daily Micro Fiction stories, plus a bonus story at the end
I'm interrupted by the sound of a blackbird singing. For a brief moment I lose focus; the notes remind me of a song I used to know.
The moment ends.
I focus back on my work.
The bird continues singing. I don't hear it.
The man, dark into the depths, stares forward unblinkingly—he fails to find the solace he longs for in the empty glass in front of him.
He'll stagger out of his home, back to his house, after last call.
A river cuts through the blasted landscape. Tributaries join it, bringing with them a tribute of decaying Uranium.
The river reaches the sea; radioactive isotopes settle permanently along the seafloor.
The uncomplaining janitor continues its work.
Galaxies and universes flow outward, their ebb carrying them away, far away, from that central point of expansion.
Like the tide, they’ll be back someday.
"It'll be fun!"
"It sounds horrible."
"Well maybe not fun for you — but I'm sure it'd be fun for somebody else. It has the hypothetical potential to be fun."
"I'll hypothetically pass."
"So that's potentially a yes?"
The couple gazed at the setting sun, basking in the glory of a perfect day.
"I wish this could last just a little longer."
He pulled out a balloon, and they slowly ascended.
They kept pace with the tangent of dying sunlight.