Welcome to Friday Fictioneers! We are a lively and friendly international writing community. Between Wednesday and Friday of every week, we each post a 100-word story to share. To learn more about us, or to post your own story, please visit our lovely leader’s website, author Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Addicted to Purple.
This week’s photo prompt is from fellow writer J. Hardy Carroll.
Photo Copyright: J. Hardy Carroll
How to Beat the Heat
by Jan Brown
Emma lay in shallow water, in a wading pool that she set-up in the backyard. She was almost comfortable for a moment.
Almost.
She looked up at the moon through the many shade trees they’d planted over the last decade. It wasn’t enough. It was never enough.
Relentless, searing heat was the new normal. Rolling brownouts meant that air conditioning was erratic at best.
Her husband was away, fighting the ubiquitous wildfires. When she thought about the conditions he endured, she felt ridiculous complaining.
Wisps of smoke from nearby fires swirled around the moon. It almost looked romantic.
Almost.
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mezzojan 
Not post-apocalyptic, and hence much more chillingly believable, I would have been tempted to call this “Almost”
Thank you! As to the title of the story, “Almost” would be a great choice. Bur I have been doing a series of ironically titled “How to” stories, so I continued with that.
As someone with low tolerance for heat, this represented a personal nightmare come true. Well done!
Sounds like a (slightly) futuristic piece on what we humans are doing to our home planet. Well done!
Thank you!!!
Great descriptions and a really interesting take on the prompt.
Thank you, Thom!
Great story, and I like the repetition of the word “Almost”.
Thank you, Ali!
I think this is a future that we are close to have alas… love the word brownout… (but it might be the engineer inside that make me feel for it).
Unfortunately we are close to this, yes. I fear the quality of air will greatly deteriorate as well, but didn’t have space to explore that aspect in 100 words. Thank you for reading and commenting, Bjorn.
What a stunning story!
These lines, alas, are too close to reality for comfort: “Relentless, searing heat was the new normal. Rolling brownouts meant that air conditioning was erratic at best. “
Yes, reality is not far from fiction in this story. Thank you for your kind comments.
You’re welcome!
Sounds like California in a dry year.
Yes, and soon it could be California every year. Hopefully we will adapt.
Almost there for all of us, already there in some places. Great story about a bleak near future.
Thank you very much!
I’ve had this feeling in California living with wild fires, especially when I was younger. I remember a summer when there was dozens of them all close together. Of course, nothing has really changed. Very original, Jan, and well written.
Thanks, Amy!
It reminds me of our reality today with climate change. We had a strange winter this year. Last summer, I remember the smoke from forest fires, though not the heat. I wonder what this summer will bring – some heat I hope, but just enough.
Lily
It’s hard to know what to expect! I hope the scenario in my story is not too near….
And it snowed here today, this 9th day of April. It’s not supposed to snow in April! My cousin lives in California and it rained. I’m always jealous, but not of this.
Dear Jan,
I feel hot and sticky just reading this…almost. 😉 Your repetition is most effective. Very well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you, Rochelle!
Thanks, Jan! A good departure from the rest. I could see it all happening.
Thank you, Kent! I hope it all doesn’t happen too soon….