Stopwatch Stories Vol 8: Stopwatch Stories, #8

By Michael Gallowglas

The eighth collection in the series of flash fiction stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bard's Cloak of Tales
• Release date: Nov 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386008972

Book preview

For MEGAN O’KEEFE

Her star is rising at warp speed.

EXCHANGE STUDENT

After the Second Human-Sl’agh’u War, both the human and Sl’agh’u governments decided that every adolescent from each kingdom would spend a month living with the other species in order to build empathy and avoid a third war.

The first day of Sasha Bailey’s visit, her host family had decided to have a picnic and a bar-b-que to welcome Sasha and make her feel more comfortable. She sat at the table trying to accept the strangeness of it all. The Sl’agh’u were an almost humanoid species, but with three legs, fleshy bodies, and oblong heads with wide mouths and small, sunken eyes. They all sat around the picnic table, with two of the parents, the Mother and Father, at the head, and a third adult, who they called the Hatcher, at the foot. Sasha sat in the middle, with the four children around her. While the Father and the Hatcher said some kind of prayer over the food, the Mother picked up one of the ribs. She held it in both hands, as a human might, and licked it, first on one side and then the other. After that, she placed the rib back on the platter. She repeats that while the Father and Hatcher continue praying. This continues rib after rib, lick after lick, until the mother has slathered every rib with her saliva. Once the Mother finishes anointing the last rib, the whole family went about having a meal, as humans might. Dishes got passed around, food got spooned out.

The meat not to your liking, dear? the Hatcher’s voice warbled.

It’s a spiritual holiday my family follows, Sasha said. I’m forbidden to eat anything that comes from an animal.

She reached for the salad.

Oh, my, the Mother said. I’ll have to prepare something special for you. I had already blessed the other dishes. We only bless the main course during prayer. We’re not a very traditional family.

Sasha ate fruit and salad for the whole visit.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

A Klingon, a Jedi, and Walter White will walk into a Startbucks. These will not be cosplayers at ComicCom, it will be part of Disney’s multi-genre-meta-crossover event. In the future, Disney will own nearly all intellectual properties, with the exception of the last holds out, Warner Bros