I’ve written a short piece called Lynchpin, a short story for the NIGHTGALE Blog Challenge from Glitterword. You can read it here.
Thanks for the opportunity to take part in this challenge, @theglitterlady!
The story page won’t accept comments, so please feel free to leave comments below if you like. Thanks!
an immortal few seconds of a goodbye, Quite a story and world building all in a short flash, great job!
Thank you, Stevie!
“if somehow he could choose what single moment of his life he would bear into eternity.”
This does it for me. Well done!
Thank you for reading and for the comment!
That was sad. Definitely moved my emotions, and well written, too.
Thank you, Lara!
such a rich history of a culture, and what a decision to have to make! It takes talent to have a complete story in something that short, and you have definitely pulled it off. I want to know more of the story, but it’s still complete in and of itself.
Thank you for the terrific comment, Rebekah, I’m so glad you liked it.
Absolutely adore this short story. I agree with Rebekah – it makes you wonder about what happens leading up to – and after – this moment. Heartbreaking and beautiful – and masterfully told, in so few words.
Thank you, Angela!
Daniel, first, let me get this out of the way: Wow! Okay, that said , I can now be more constructive in my comments. The only thing scarier than dying would be to live forever in the abyss. You’ve packed an awful lot into such a short story – details that keep us wishing we knew more. Really enjoyed the whole thing from beginning to scary end. One criticism, don’t like the name Parris…but I’ll get over that.
Thank you, Jo-Anne! I truly appreciate it! Believe it or not, I did go through some doubt as to whether or not to name her Parris (due to the name’s unfortunate association with Ms. Hilton), but in the end, it seemed to fit, so I just stuck with it.
Holy sh-! That was absolutely amazing! Such rich depth of characters, and a history both cosmic in scale (the alien culture) and personal (the captain and the crew that he both has to and is willing to completely sacrifice himself for).
I can’t wrap my head around how you told such a complete story in so few words. Little details like the alien detritus on Parris’ face (and I like the name by the way, was not reminded of Ms. Hilton while reading) and lines like “You did everything you could” being delivered BY the guy who’s sacrificing himself tell me everything I feel I need to know about the characters and their situation.
Sure if there was more I could spend a novel or maybe even series with these characters, they’re all so distinct and compelling, but I actually feel like if this is all we get then “It was enough.”
Wow, what a tremendous comment, David! Thanks so much… you made my morning!
I do think there’s room for expanding this into a slightly longer story, although I hadn’t considered a novel-length work. I’m over the moon that you find the characters that compelling, though!