Short Fiction Fridays #7: Heartwarming

After last issue’s heavy stories, I wanted to share some of my favorites from the lighter side of speculative fiction. These stories all fit the theme of Heartwarming, and I hope they bring some comfort to your weekend.

Dark, sad stories are often difficult to write without coming off as melodramatic, but I’ve found that it’s just as difficult to write an uplifting story that doesn’t feel impossibly cheesy. The stories (and IF games) in this issue all had that rare power. They also contain werewolf puppies, summer camp, the yawning maw of space-time, and a balance of the four humors. Enjoy!

“The Cage” by A.M. Dellamonica

Jude, a renovator, helps single mother Paige baby-werewolf-proof her basement. Paige is the lead witness in a trial for the murder of her werewolf sister, and Jude is a stoic butch who definitely isn’t falling for her client. Warm, fluffy, and steel-toed.

CW: Murder (mentioned), death of a sibling (mentioned), torture (mentioned), blood, witness intimidation

The Cage | Tor.com

The eerie thing about Paige Adolpha wasn’t how she turned up right when I was reading about her in the paper. It wasn’t her fame as the star witness in the local werewolf trial…

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"Hey There, Delilah" by Gretchen Tessmer

After being struck by a meteorite, Delilah continues to work as a grocery clerk. Only her manager’s young daughter notices that she has died. While comforting the child, whose mother is hospitalized, Delilah compares her ghostly limbo with her father’s memory loss. Quiet, gentle, and calm.

CW: Traumatic accidents, death, dementia

Hey There, Delilah, by Gretchen Tessmer – Translunar Travelers Lounge

“If you’re not working towards something, Delilah, you might as well be dead,” he says with a sigh.

Which is super ironic, considering I’ve been dead since last Friday.

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“Silver Bells” by Jaime Marvin

Who says time loops can’t be heartwarming? Laura’s stuck in Almost-Christmas, driving through an endless blizzard with “Silver Bells” on every radio station, and it’s all because her cousin Kathy had to go and get herself sucked into the yawning maw of space-time. Funny, voice-y, and festive.

(I was the guest editor for this issue of Apparition Lit, for full disclosure!)

CW: None

Silver Bells – Apparition Literary Magazine

In the dimension where Laura unfortunately finds herself, it is always almost Christmas. And she’s thinking about Kathy-with-a-K, because that’s just about the only fucking thing to do in Almost-Christmas…

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“That Story Isn’t the Story" by John Wiswell

Anton has bites on his inner thighs. They never scab, and they bleed when Mr. Bird is angry with him. Now that he has escaped Mr. Bird’s lair and lives in cramped comfort with his friends Grigorii and Luis, he has to learn how to feel safe again. Tense, patient, and cathartic.

CW: Abuse, blood

That Story Isn’t the Story - Uncanny Magazine

Everything Anton owns goes in one black trash bag. His ratty yellow sketchpad, which he bought to draw the other familiars when he moved here, and only ever used three pages of. The few shirts and khakis that he paid for with his own money, before Mr. Bird took control of his finances. A broken […]

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IF: “Birdland” by Brendan Patrick Hennessy

You play as Bridget, an anxious 14-year-old who has been sent off to summer camp and keeps having really weird dreams about birds. Between learning to canoe and saving the world, you might also find yourself falling for youth detective Bell Park (also featured in Bell Park, Youth Detective). Whimsical, nostalgic, and sweet.

If you liked this game, the author also has an entry in this year’s IFComp, which is open now and has a bunch of free to play interactive fiction pieces!

CW: None that I noticed while playing, but the narrative does branch

BIRDLAND

A young adult text game about falling in love, coming to terms with who you are, and saving your entire summer camp from weird alien bird monsters.

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IF: “Ataraxia” by Lauren O'Donoghue

If Stardew Valley had more folk horror and less pictures, it could be Ataraxia. You move to an island, get to know your neighbors, and solve their mysteries. I fell in love with Dagmara, the reticent lighthouse keeper, and stayed after the main story just to garden. Serene, melancholy, and gradually familiar, the way a house becomes a home.

Bonus cool points: your personality stats are the four humors.

If you liked this game, the author also has an entry in this year’s IFComp, which is open now and has a bunch of free to play interactive fiction pieces!

CW: Blood, mild body horror, animal death from monsters and hunting, death of a child (discussed), implied sexual content (optional), potentially more not encountered in my playthrough

Ataraxia

The Cottage // The air in here smells good today, like woodsmoke and tea leaves. You find yourself breathing slowly. Your cat is sprawled in front of the hearth, stretching her paws towards the warmth of the fire.

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UP NEXT

With sidewalk shadows growing longer and Halloween coming up, the next issue’s theme will be Ghosts.

THANK YOU FOR READING

If you enjoyed any of these stories, please support their authors and the magazines that published them. I’d also love to hear any suggestions for future list themes! Just reply to this email or contact me elsewhere and I’ll use your theme (within reason) for a future newsletter.

I have contacted the Revue team to request the ability to add alt text for photos, since these back issues are available on the web, but until that is an option please note that all included images are non-informational cover art for linked stories.