Free Fiction: Substitute For Sun

Substitute For Sun

Grandpa adjusted his ladder beneath the dangling light—now dark, as it had burned out. All the other lights in this part of the forest had died, too. Good thing we spotted the problem in time. The flowers at our feet remained in full bloom. An hour longer and they would have withered and died. And our people with them.

“All right, Opal,” said Grandpa. “Hold it steady for me.”

I watched him climb, one slow step at a time. A question bothered me. I wanted to ask, but I thought it best to wait. The last thing Grandpa needed was a distraction. He reached the socket and twisted the dead bulb free.

“That makes nineteen.” He shook the glass close to his ear and let it drop. The white flowers broke its fall, ringing a soft clink on the ground. It did not take long to replace it. A new bright glow removed the darkness, giving the forest the full spectrum it needed. “Thirty-one more to go!”

He climbed down. His feet touched the ground.

I could finally ask.

“Do you think I’ll ever see the sun, Grandpa?”

I expected a sigh from him, and he gave one. He removed his cap and looked up. So did I. The black clouds were hard to see, but I knew they lingered high above us, choking the life from our world. “I asked my grandfather the same thing,” he answered. “Do you believe there is a sun?”

I wasn’t sure. I wanted to believe, so I nodded.

Grandpa gathered his bag, folded the ladder, and carefully cradled it under his arm. I thought that was the end of it, until he smiled at me. “Light shines where hope lies, they say.”

I frowned. Hope. If only I knew what that was.

*     *     *

I wrote this for a blog hop, hosted by Angela Goff, Lillie McFerrin, Angie Richmond, and Daniel Swensen.

Rules:

Write a piece of flash fiction, poem, or song (300 words or less) using the photo as your inspiration. Post it on your blog any time between now and when the linky closes. Every eligible entry will qualify for a chance to win one of the prizes listed below. The linky will be open from January 23 through January 30. 

1^st: Fifty page critique by Lillie McFerrin 
2^nd: Twenty-Five page critique edit by Angie Richmond 
3^rd: Fifteen page critique by Angela Goff
4^th: Ten page critique by Daniel Swensen 

5^th: A copy of Steven King’s On Writing

*My blog does not support the Linky for this hop. Weird. You can find other entries by going to the host's blogs.