ABC Shorts: Where Has the Winter Gone?
[Note from Steve: Most of A.B’s short fiction is archived here in the blog category “ABC Shorts.” Many of his stories can also be found in some collections, free PDFs you can download—see the “Free Stuff & Contests” web page. Of course, don’t forget the “ABC Sci-Fi Mystery Series” books for young adults: The Secret Lab, The Secret of the Urns, and Mind Games.]
Where Has the Winter Gone?
Copyright 2020, A. B. Carolan
Kaylee spotted the polar bear pacing on the ice flow.
“Another one, Dad!”
Leif took the binoculars from his adopted daughter’s hand, found the bear, and waved at the boat’s captain to change course.
“Steer to 1:20 p.m., ice flow dead ahead.”
The boat swung around and the crew got ready to welcome a new guest aboard.
***
Over an hour later, the groggy bear was safe on the mainland and waking up.
“He’ll soon be back in the water looking for food,” Leif told Kaylee, “but at least we can keep track of him with the ear tag. Let’s hope he doesn’t get stranded on another ice flow.”
“I understand. There’s nothing to eat around here.” Kaylee made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “Where are we anyway?”
“About ten klicks inland from where the shore used to be. The ice is gone, the tundra no longer frozen, so it’s all mud. We’re in the middle of winter, and look at what we have.”
“Where has the winter gone?” Kaylee said.
“The bears are asking the same thing,” said Leif. “No self-respecting seal could fail to spot their enemies’ white coats now.”
***
They dropped anchor in a quiet little bay. Only a few decades earlier, it would have been completely iced over all year round.
Kaylee was looking out over the dark waters when Leif found a deck chair and sat down beside her.
He offered her a bag. “Some peanuts to go with your root beer?”
“What are you drinking?”
He looked at his glass half full of amber liquid. “I thought I’d reward myself with some Irish whiskey. We saved several bears today. Lucky seven, hon.”
“Celebrating? Celebrating persons don’t look sad.”
He studied the black face that his wife and he had come to love so much, hoping to see irony, but he only saw sadness to match his.
“You know me too well. We’re too late. We’re butting our heads against a brick wall. Ever since that orange-faced devil killed any chance of stopping global warming, that’s what we’ve been doing—fighting the inevitable. I feel very little satisfaction in knowing his famous Florida resort is now underwater. He took us far beyond the tipping point without any concern for future generations!”
“He was an evil man, Dad.”
“And his supporters bought into that evil. He was the Devil’s tool for planetary destruction, allowing people to kill its flora and fauna, which will eventually include human beings.”
“Why are we doing this then?”
Leif took a sip of his whiskey. “For me, it’s penance for allowing the SOB to get away with it. And penance for not doing more to protect your future. We can slow it down a bit, but there’s no longer any solution because of him.”
***
Comments are always welcome.
The Third Factor. The enemy has recovered the lost Stones of Sumer…. S. P. Brown’s new fantasy and sequel to Veiled Memory (“The Stonehenge Chronicles”) is an epic tour de force (I reviewed the latter book in these pages), continuing the saga. Stan got me to read fantasy again! No dragons, vampires, gremlins, or house elves here—just fantasy that probes the darkness in human beings’ souls and the courage of those who combat it. None of the feckless Rowling verbosity found in her later Potter novels either. Available in print and ebook format at most retail sites….and brought to you by Black Opal Books, “because some stories just have to be told.”
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
