“The Air Will Catch Us”

I’m thrilled to announce that my 1,000-word science fiction story, “The Air Will Catch Us,” is published in Reckoning issue 7! A grandparent reckons with environmental changes nobody had foreseen, where–as Pennywise the Clown promised–everyone floats.

Link to story:

Please enjoy “The Air Will Catch Us” in Reckoning issue 7.

Please enjoy “The Air Will Catch Us” to read for free!

This story got a lovely mention in Maria Haskins’s April Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Short Fuction Roundup!

Charles Payseur gave this story a positive mention in Locus Magazine!

This story got a heartwarming mini-review on Yvonne Tunnat’s blog–I was touched.

Author’s Notes

I wrote the 750-word seed of this story for the Codex Writers “Weekend Warrior” flash fiction contest. The writing prompt was “Write about a liquid, chemical, or potion with an unusual property (four-dimensional, floating, invisible, etc.).” When you have two days to write a story, you tend to return to the ideas you habitually orbit, and I seem to like stories of people rising up into the air (see “L’Appel du Vide” and “Matchstick Reveries“). So I crafted some impossible science to make the air itself liquid. All my best dreams are about being buoyant.

The story is a quiet, personal reckoning with a world that changes too fast. Maybe I’m thinking of my mom. Maybe I’m thinking of myself. Maybe I’m wondering what the world will be like when my daughter goes out on her own into the world, and realizing the world I’m living in is nothing like what I imagined at her age. A common enough theme, focused on a playground where kids can fly.

I’m grateful Reckoning bought this story even if its science fiction is more fantasy, and its connection to the Earth’s waters is pretty loose. The issue is beautiful to look at, and I’m eager to dive into the stories, poems, and essays.

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