Sponsor a story at EDF - Your message can reach thousands of readers for just $4
“How long?”
“Six months.”
***
“No chemo.” Wasted body. He’s resolute.
She looks. Then nods.
A kiss. Swelling belly.
***
Hi, Teddy.
Punch hard. Dance slow. Read lots. Kiss few.
Laugh loud, always.
Your Dad.
Ken Liu was a programmer before he became a lawyer, and he currently lives in the Greater Boston Area with his wife and daughter. His fiction has appeared / will appear in Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s, Strange Horizons, and The Writers of the Future anthology, among other places.
GD Star Rating
loading...
loading...
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
14 Responses to “THE LETTER • by Ken Liu”
Comments
« HOW TO EMBARRASS MUM AND DAD • by Susan Kaempfer | Home | Podcast EDF043: ONE IN FOUR SHOT • written by Mickey Mills • read by Matt Cowens »
December 5th, 2010 at 3:21 am
A stylish piece!
Doffing its cap to haiku poetry?
Every sentence (sentence fragment?) has only two words, apart from the penultimate “Laugh loud, always.”
Lots said in only 33 words (35 plus title) and with 4 characters (Teddy, Dad, wife/girlfriend, and unborn baby). It invites meditation.
Very clever. True “Flash Fiction”. Well done.
December 5th, 2010 at 5:37 am
excellent
thanks for sharing
martine
December 5th, 2010 at 8:46 am
Well, I have to admit that this is beyond me. I can’t judge it.
December 5th, 2010 at 9:03 am
It’s so sad! I couldn’t even imagine that, how horrible. I love it, the fact that so few words were used just increases the impact. I love how you give the impression the last 6 months of his life are just flying by so fast that he only has time for fragments of images. 5 stars!
December 5th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Nice. With so few words, this packed a gut punch.
December 5th, 2010 at 11:09 am
So much said with so few words. I loved the way it made me work to fill in all the blanks.
December 5th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I think the unborn baby was Teddy, that there was only three characters in this short story. Lots of impact with so few words but still feeling a little ripped off. I like a build up. I look forward to my morning story and today I’m done in 3 seconds.
December 5th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Big punch- few words. Excellent, Thanks
December 5th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Interesting structure. Would love to know more how to read it?
I gave it 3 stars.
December 5th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Love it. So sad.
December 6th, 2010 at 1:50 am
It took me by surprize! Anything that can bring a tear to my eye in 30+ words deserves at least 4 stars! Beautifully done.
December 6th, 2010 at 5:06 am
@ ajcap. I see your point, and it is a good interpretation. You could also include a doctor in the first section (so another character), on the other hand the conversation could be between the father and his wife/girlfriend.
December 6th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Excellent story. I always love Ken’s writing, read several of his (much longer) science fiction stories. Those who enjoy sci-fi should definitely look up his work.
April 28th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
I’m wow’d