THE DAY OF THE WHITE GOLD
A SciFi Flash Fiction
by Linda Mooney
Arthur hurried into the hospital lobby and went straight to
the stairs leading up to the second floor. Reaching it, he automatically turned
to his right and briskly walked down the long corridor to room 47. The door was
closed, so he gave it a rap with his knuckles.
“Come in!”
He entered
the tiny room to find Kellie already sitting up in bed. She smiled at him,
which he returned.
“Hey, you
look great!” he told her, and it was no lie. “You look a hundred times better
than you did the last time I saw you.”
She
chuckled, then clutched her side as a spasm of pain crossed her face. “Ooh,
don’t make me laugh.”
He closed
the distance between them to give her a kiss. She wrinkled her nose at him when
it ended. “Your lips are cold.”
“And yours
are warm,” he murmured. “Warm mine up then.”
She eagerly
accepted his challenge, her hands clutching the front of his heavy jacket. This
time when they parted, he nuzzled her nose. “I can’t stay long, but you
probably know what today is.”
“Yeah.” She
nodded once. “That’s all I’ve heard people talk about the past couple of days.
I wish I could be out there with you. I wish I could be in the middle of it,
helping and having fun like everyone else.”
“So do I,”
he admitted. “But you’re still not over your emergency appendectomy. Speaking
of, have you seen the doctor this morning?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He said I
can probably go home a week from tomorrow. They have to make sure I don’t have
any sepsis or infection. Artie?” She tugged on his coat. “I’d give anything to
have some snow. I don’t care if it’s leftovers. I just want to be able to touch
it, and smell it, and maybe taste it. You know?”
He
understood perfectly. “I can’t promise anything. The guards are very careful
about saving every flake they can. You know as well as I do that every drop
matters.”
Every Drop
Matters. The yearly credo was pounded into their heads by the government when
this one day arrived.
“Where are
you scheduled to work?”
“Down by
the main square.”
“How much
are they forecasting?”
“Should be
a bumper crop this year! They’re expecting at least seventeen inches. The Water
Department says we’ll need at least eleven inches to meet our water demands
next year.”
She smiled.
“I hope we get that much. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a surplus? That way we
won’t have to worry about having to drink recycled and re-purified water the
last couple of months before the next snowfall.” She glanced over at the
window, and joy lit her face. “Artie! Look! It’s started!”
He turned
to look outside in time to see a couple of errant flakes slowly drifting past
the glass panes. “I gotta go. Take care, Kel. I’ll be back as soon as I can to
tell you all about it.” He gave her another kiss. A quicker one, but just as
tender. She gave him a goodbye wave as he rushed from the room.
He made it
to the supply depot just as the troops were handing out the snow shovels.
Getting in line to receive his, he found himself behind Dryce Cochard. Dryce
swiveled around and flashed him a grin.
“You ready
for this, Art?”
“Just as
ready as I can be.” He peered upward at the thickening gray clouds. “Do you
think we’ll get those seventeen inches the scientists are predicting?”
The man
gave a derisive snort. “I stopped believing those lab docs years ago. Remember,
it was them who told us this planet had an abundant water supply. That’s why we
migrated here in the first place.”
“But they
later admitted they must have seen the results right after the snowfall,”
Arthur pointed out.
“Yeah,
well, it didn’t help us at the time, did it?”
They
advanced forward in line. After receiving his shovel, he and Dryce were
directed to the small tent that had been erected nearby. There, they were
reminded of where their work detail was located.
They piled
onto the magnetic sleds, along with several others, to ride to their work
station. By this time the snow was falling harder, and in thicker lumps. Dryce
let out a whoop of joy and began scraping up the layer already covering the
pavement. “Every drop counts!”
Although
this was a time when everyone was involved in the back-breaking work of trying
to save every bit of moisture falling, it was also a time of celebration.
Arthur joined in the occasional snowball fight, and often paused to catch
flakes on his tongue. Their pure taste was indescribable. He smiled like a fool
as he brushed several from his face. Without this snowfall, the settlement
would perish. They, as well as all plant life, would die of dehydration. There
was no going back to the planet they’d once called home. It no longer existed.
They were
allowed ten-minute breathers. During his break, he watched as the others toiled
to pile the sleds with the snow. Once loaded, the crafts would jet straight to
the factory, where the white gold was converted into water and stored for
future use.
He also saw
people eating the snow, luxuriating in its crisp, unadulterated flavor. He
thought of Kellie, stuck in her hospital bed and unable to enjoy this moment
that occurred only one day every year. Everyone would be sore, their muscles
aching when tomorrow came. But for now, just for today, all the work was worth
it.
The whole
settlement labored through the day as the snow fell without let up. It wasn’t
until after dark, late into the night, when the flakes stopped falling. The Day
of the White Gold was over. It was time to put away their shovels until next
year and go home.
On his way
back to the storage facility, Arthur watched as crews went about with their
hoses and containers, vacuuming up every stray and melted drop. Even though it
was mostly filthy, that water would be used on the gardens, and not filtered
for human consumption.
He was
exhausted, he was hungry, and he was cold. But he couldn’t go home. Not yet.
He trudged
back to the hospital where he’d promised Kellie he’d tell her all about how his
day had gone. Marching up the stairs, he noticed his boots left wet footprints
on the stone steps. It didn’t matter. The wetness would soon evaporate.
When he
reached her room, she was waiting for him. He went over to kiss her.
“I watched
the news. I think I saw you when they panned over the square,” she told him.
“Was it fun? I mean…”
“It was
glorious,” he informed her. “It was everything we’d hoped for.”
“The
scientists say we got a total of twelve and a half inches! It’ll be enough to
get us through all next year!” Her face was flushed from the excitement. At
least, he hoped so.
Arthur
placed a hand to her forehead to check for fever. Kellie giggled at his touch.
“Oooh, your hand’s like ice! Why aren’t you wearing your gloves?”
Like ice.
The remark reminded him.
Reaching
inside his coat pocket, he withdrew the one glove. Carefully, he extracted the
small, marble-size ball of compacted snow he’d saved for her. Tears rose in her
eyes as he handed it over.
“I know how
much it hurt for you to miss this day,” he whispered. “So I brought you a piece
of it.”
She took it
from him and slipped it into her mouth. Rolling it around on her tongue, she
sighed contentedly. “It tastes so good. Thank you. I know the risk you took to
bring it to me.”
Rather than
reply, he leaned forward to kiss her again. And this time she let him share the
melting snow’s clean taste on her tongue.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
New!
MIMSEY
Humorous Fantasy Romance
Word Count: 24.5K
$1.99 e / $6.99
pMimsey Goddess lives a simple life,
chatting with Nim, her pet sloth, scaring a robber or two,
saving the occasional life…you know, normal things for a
demi-goddess. For centuries she’s enjoyed this life, scratching
the sexual itch when she feels it, moving on when the need
arises. But when she meets Silas, he brings up feelings she’s
never felt before.
A routine stop at the market for
Silas Barnett turns into anything but when he helps stop a
robbery, and he’s intrigued by the old lady brave enough to take
on the crook. Never having much of a family of his own, he’d
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but want to spend time with her.
Though as much as he likes her,
Silas doesn’t exactly see Mimsey in the same light as she wants
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another lady throwing Silas for a loop, and after one date she
has him completely under her spell. Still, she’s not what he’s
looking for, and Mimsey feels guilty for forcing it.
When a jealous tattletale sticks
her nose where it doesn’t belong, Mimsey must answer to the
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And she must pay with his life.
Warning: Contains a
lethal cantaloupe, a weekly poop, beer, third time's the charm,
a vicious revenge, and a chance at love for two people who
never expected to find it.
Excerpt and Buy Links
