I remember watching him at last year’s Christmas party when the Fortune-Telling Fish from someone’s cracker was doing the rounds. It got to Geoff, and accompanied by shrieks of laughter from most of the female library staff it quickly shrivelled up and decided he was passionate. Geoff, in his lopsided paper hat, went red and self-consciously pushed his glasses further on until they must’ve been digging into his forehead.
It sounds daft, but it intrigued me; I had to know if it was true. Too much sherry perhaps.
He may not look much in his grey slacks and cardie, but without them, in silence in the darkness we smoulder. Come the morning, when the early light seeps through the bedroom curtains, he’s Clark Kent again, polishing his specs and making observations on the weather. Hard to believe it’s the same person, but me and that red plastic fish know better.
JY Saville spent nine years studying and researching at three universities, then left it all behind for a job which allows her the time to get the never-ending stream of words out of her head and onto a computer. Some of those words have been published in 365 Tomorrows, and some on the BBC7 website. She sometimes reviews books for SFReader.com.
Did you like this story?
A new and interesting story is posted every day.
A new and interesting story is posted every day.
Subscribe to the RSS Feed! (what is rss)
Don’t miss another story! Subscribe to Every Day Fiction via RSS.- Share on Facebook
Rate this story
18 Responses to “NOT SUCH A COLD FISH • by JY Saville”
Comments
« AWAY FROM HOME • by Ryan P. Standley | Home | A BEDTIME STORY FOR BREEZY • by Kevin Shamel »
June 8th, 2009 at 4:31 am
I’m so pleased you remember me and the fish so fondly, JY. Please give my regards to the girls from the library.
I loved it… Oh, and your great little story, too.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Waiting for more! We will be hearing more from her soon.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Some sort of an in joke? Sorry. I don’t get it.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:00 am
Huh?????
June 8th, 2009 at 5:23 am
Fortune-telling fish? It’s a lost reference on me.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:35 am
Too short. There’s just not enough there.
I didn’t recognize the Fortune-telling fish, either, but I assume it’s some kind of party-game-thingie and I can accept that from the context,
June 8th, 2009 at 5:38 am
This is what a flash should be. A full story in a few words.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:40 am
A fortune telling fish is a piece of red cellophane shaped as a fish. Put on the palm, it moves, curves, folds up completely, according to the traits of each individual. Not much unlike a mood ring in that respect.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:41 am
Oh, yeah. Great story. Loved how the title seamlessly tied in with the story.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:53 am
A well-written piece of Flash fiction. I think the length is catching readers by surprise as they have been accustomed to the near 1000 word stories. This is the sort of thing one would read at FLASHSHOT (but not of their genre). Enjoyed the story.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:55 am
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1536
This link has a video that demonstrates how one works.
I had to look it up, too. Once I did, I enjoyed the story.
–John
June 8th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Fun piece.
June 8th, 2009 at 6:36 am
Cute little daydream.
June 8th, 2009 at 8:54 am
I thought it was perfect as is. Worthy of a five.
June 8th, 2009 at 9:22 am
John,
Thanks for the link. It definitely helped me get the story. Fun story!
June 8th, 2009 at 9:53 am
That’s his fish story. Mine: The one that got away was thiiiissss loooong. Really. Cute.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:03 am
[...] creative writing, fiction, story, success, writing More excitement, for me this time – Not Such a Cold Fish is now on Every Day Fiction and so far seems to be reasonably well-received, though not everyone [...]
June 11th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
At the risk of being cliched, this one made me laugh. Good humored modesty.