Why on earth would self be quoting from The 100 when she has written her own story of apocalyptic dystopia that was published just a few months ago?
Right? Right?
Here again is something from “The Freeze” (Bluestem, Spring 2015). When she realizes how long the story is — it’s a miracle. It’s written in very hallucinatory prose. And she was able to go on like that, without switching voice, for almost 20 pages? Self is always surprised when she can pull something like that off.
To tell the truth, every one of her speculative fiction stories is an experiment. Beginning with the extremely short story, “The Departure,” published in Philippine Genre Stories (thanks to Charles Tan, who solicited it for their very first issue).
She likes applying the dreamy voice to her science fiction.
Moving along.
There is a very terrifying scene in “The Freeze.” But she will skip right over that because she is quite distressed herself after reading it.
No sign of Annie. She had been taken by a great, invisible force. Up, towards the light? Or down to the sea. Who knew?
If there was no body, there could not be a death. That comforted me.
I walked in the gloomy dark until I heard, far away but distinct, the sound of waves pounding the cliffs.
Descend.
Almost overnight, the temperature dropped, and dropped, and dropped.
Mr. King, the old man who lived next door, said, It’s just a cold spell. It will pass.
But two weeks later, it was dark almost the whole day.
The roses blackened, my teeth chattered in my head.
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
