Delicate flowers bloom in the Sympathy meadows throughout the year: purple buds, white trumpets, yellow daisies, and pink asters. Soft sun shines. Misty rains fall. Deer browse. Rabbits nibble. Sheep graze. Songbirds sing softly: a red wing, a blue head. Streams trickle. Fairies play their instruments.
People ascend the hills. They grow flowers, arrange bouquets, and tend trails. They harvest peaches, apricots, apples, cherries, and nectarines. Ivy climbs their cottages in winter with red berries and royal purple blooms. Visitors come to rest, recover, and eat fruit pies baked in Sympathy, warm, comforting, and delicious.
Why it springs to mind: You'll never look at an ice cube the same way again. Where read: In the 2014 Hugo award-winning Lightspeed Magazine , August. Length: 5,194 words Summary: A woman has an ice cube for a soul. Memorable: How the story invites us to think about the shape of our soul, how it (or our perception of it) influences us and how it changes. What ordinary every day object would your soul be? A silver spoon, a beech stick? A great party conversation starter, this. Quote: “All life is an experiment." Notable: The protagonist Rina is an avid reader (always a good choice). Pairs well with: T.S. Elliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay Origin: The story was written in 24 hours based on a writing prompt. (See Author Spotlight: Ken Liu ) About the author: Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings , the first in a fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, is due out from Saga Press ( a new Simon & Schuster imprint ) in 2015.
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