Short Stories for Short on Time People Read online

  A VALENTINE'S DAY

  He came into Rosa's bedroom, left the glass on the bedside table and shuffled towards the window. The noise of the blinds and the sunlight spreading into the room woke her up.

  “Good morning, honey,” he said bringing the glass of water to her lips. He sat painfully beside her, and stroked her hair.

  “I love you, Antonio.”

  His hands started trembling violently and he burst into tears. Sobbing, he lay by her side and embraced her as tightly as he could.

  It was the first time in four years that she showed any sign of recognizing him.

  This happened perhaps on February 14 or, most probably, on any other day. I don't know. And Rosa didn't know.

  * * * * *

  THE HARVEST

  My name is Andrés Pizarro, it is 9.30 AM on March 13, 2134 in Iquitos, Peru.

  They left last night exactly as they came, silently. In between, just the noise of their crafts devouring the forests. All the information I have been able to access tells the same story, everywhere on the planet. Resistance gave up after just three days and when our defenses were destroyed we could only watch the reaping.

  It took us thousands of years to tame nature. A century to control our own voracity and avoid self destruction. We were able to stabilize world population and revert global warming effects. Seventeen days ago we were a powerful species, indestructible, able to achieve anything we dreamed of. And then they came.

  In a few months there will not be a single living thing on Earth. They had harvested all vegetation cover and future is anything but uncertain: our only prospects are using up the stored stocks and die. The worst thing is... there is no why.

  Article published in Spanish online newspaper 'elmundo.es' on March 10, 2008:

  A spot addressed to consumers from another galaxy.

  Advertising for aliens. ALONSO CONTRERAS (EFE).

  Next June 12 will become a milestone in the history of advertising when the first commercial for potential corn snacks consumers will be launched into space towards a solar system 42 light years from Earth, the advertisement will reach its target on 2050. A popular brand of snacks made of corn, oil and artificial flavor enhancers has associated with the University of Leicester (England) to broadcast a commercial through an ultra frequency radar... (...)

  * * * * *

  ZOMBIE LIFE

  From home to work. And from work to home. That was his life.

  But something changed at some moment, though he didn't even notice. He didn't know neither how it happened nor when. But somehow, one morning, he woke up and saw puzzled how his cat was chewing part of his right foot.

  He suppressed his first impulse of frightening the animal away and let it go on with its munching.

  * * * * *

  DEEP DOWN MOM WAS RIGHT

  She woke up roughly after hitting the crash barrier and the only thing left to do was grasping the steering wheel as the car plunged into the void. The nose of the car hit the surface and started to sink down fast. She tried to open the door with all her might but water pressure made it impossible. In spite of that she kept on trying, banging on the window, scratching.

  And then she saw the belfry. The car slided down towards what some decades ago was the main square of a village doomed, as many others, to become a water reservoir in the name of progress. For some reason that view calmed her, she stared patiently at the Romanesque facade while water slowly filled the interior of the vehicle. She understood then that she had one only chance. She would wait until water filled the car completely and then, when the inside and outside pressure was the same, she would be able to open the door and swim up towards the surface. Would she be able to do that? Well, she will clear that doubt up in a few minutes.

  The moment had arrived, water was already at her chin, she inhaled as much oxygen as she could take and hold her breath to get ready for the ascent. When she got out of the car she was terrified to notice a line of hundreds of tiny bubbles coming out of some place in between her lower lip and her chin. She shook her limbs in frenzy, trying to reach the distorted moon above.

  She didn't get to see any light at the end of a tunnel, and she didn't get to watch her whole life in slow motion. She only saw her mother, some years before, “OK, it's your mouth and it's your money, so it's your decision. But think it over first cos that's something you'll have for the rest of your life, I don't want you to some day regret getting the freaking piercing.”

  * * * * *

  Contact the author at https://www.kutxitxeos.net (blog in Spanish) or write email to [email protected].