I am honored to have my flash fiction story “The Final Feast” published yesterday on Edge of Humanity Magazine. It’s an exciting story with a message of warning. It has a real twist of an ending. Enjoy. Happy Sunday!

The Final Feast

“Here it is, travelers. The last glacier in existence.”

The boatload of visitors looked up to see a weathered face, weary with age. A huge cavern in the ice, open like a mouth in awe. At its highest peak, an angry red beacon throbbed, a pimple on the sky’s otherwise clear complexion.

The visitors spoke several languages. Many carried expensive camera equipment and wore weather-resistant hats and polarized shades to shield their eyes from arctic glare. All were bundled in the same blue, down feather parkas to protect them against the frigid temperatures of the Arctic Ocean.

“How dare you come to watch me die?” The glacier’s mouth spat ice shards, a rainbow of spittle that dribbled on its trespassers.

“Did you hear that?” Lumi shook her brother’s shoulders, but Uki was entranced, staring straight at a glacier more fragile than the tangerine plateau back home. Since the age of four, he would close his eyes tightly and blow out blue birthday candles, making the same wish to travel to see Ice Father before he melted.

He whispered Lumi this secret while holding open the freezer compartment after their parents fell asleep in their makeshift bedroom made from string and curtain. Assigned reservation housing meant electricity and privacy were both considered luxuries.

Lumi would close her eyes and listen to Uki describe the glacier: “See, it’s turquoise because blue’s the only color Ice Father can’t absorb.” Lumi promised to tell no one of this nightly waste or of his secret wish. Now that his pubescent legs were strong enough to make the journey out into the vast sea, Uki stood face-to-face with Ice Father, and yet it was his sister, Lumi, who heard him speak.

“Your toxins torch my face,” Ice Father cracked as he spoke. “My dignity is lost. I’m crumbling…”

Continue this tale

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