Flash Fiction Friday

on a Saturday, because, life.

Prompts for 14 March, 2025 from

Scoot

• Write about returning home

• uncanny familiarity

• “What else is left?”

• A character who can’t remember

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  3.

  

  image by author and Night Cafe Studios

Pinta was awake before the pinpricks of artificial sun began. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, she completed her morning routine as always. She allowed herself a half cup of coffee, knowing that the luxury was now a limited resource. As she sipped, she planned her day. First she wanted to see her father. He said that someone had set the fire, but the computer said the cause was unknown. Then she wanted to see her mother. The argument between the packer and the manager didn't make sense to her. There was an uncanny familiarity in the set tone of the manager in the altercation about commerce and profitability over quality coffee beans, but she couldn't quite place it.

Her father was asleep when she entered her parents' quarters, which surprised her. He rarely slept longer than six hours. A voice startled her.

"Pinta, dear, come to the next room." Her mother's sotto voce invitation set alarm bells in Pinta's mind. Her heart thumped as she followed her mother.

"Mother, why are you home? Why is Father sleeping? What is happening?"

Pinta's mother patted the cushion beside her. "Sit here and listen carefully. Your father is under sedation. He was up half the night, worrying about the coffee crop and the fire. He was certain someone set it deliberately, but the computer…"

"I know, Mother," Pinta interrupted. "He said that someone interfered with the sprinklers and set the fire."

"Then you understand why I was concerned enough to call for medical. He was writing and sketching on his notebook, but nothing he put there was rational nor reasonable. It's as though he couldn't remember that this is not Earth, where people fought over profits and neglected the needs of others for personal gain."

Pinta's heart dropped. "Mother," she began, "I overheard an argument before the fire…"

"Pinta, I am glad you are here. Keep an eye on your father while I check the coffee greenhouse to see what else is left. And when your sister returns from her shift at the garment pod, say nothing." Before Pinta could respond or protest, her mother slipped out the door of the family home.

Pinta's sister, Naimeh, worked overnights making fabric from the cotton grown in a separate pod. Because it took nearly an hour to walk between the family suite and the garment pod, Naimeh qualified for a small living hub near her work. She returned home two nights a week, choosing to be with the family as much as possible.

Pinta thought again about the dispute between the manager and the packer. She remembered an old proverb, "Whoever loves money never has enough." She didn't know when she learned it, and she wondered why she recalled it today. She heard her father in the next room murmuring in his sleep.

"Arturo, no, there's no need…" Over and over those words. Arturo? Who was Arturo? No need for what? Her father's voice faded again as his dream faded and he drifted back into sedated slumber.

Without warning, the door slammed open. Naimeh burst into the suite, wild eyed and soot streaked. Tears stained a rivulet on her cheeks. "FATHER!" she shouted. "FATHER!"

Pinta jumped up to quiet her sister, "Naimeh, what's wrong? What happened?"

Naimeh gulped air. "The cotton is gone, burned in a fire last night. I tried to put it out, but it was so hot." She dissolved into sobs. "Where is Father? Someone said the coffee was burning, too? What is happening?"

Pinta pulled the sobbing woman into the bathroom. "First, you need a warm shower. And tea. Then we'll talk. Computer, start a shower. Add lavender and chamomile oils to the steam." Pinta hung a thick cotton robe on a hook before closing the bathroom door.

Once she heard the shower running, Pinta returned to her quarters. "Computer, tell me about the cotton fire."

"The fire in Sector F is now contained. Cause is undetermined. Full crop damaged with approximately one-third dully destroyed. Investigation to fully commence when the fire is extinguished."

First coffee, now cotton. "Computer, are there other fires in the bio?"

"Currently there are fires in seven agriculture regions: F, G2, G4, T1, T5, S3, and A11. All are currently contained. Causes under investigation. Crops of coffee, corn, cotton, hops, rice, sugarcane, tea, and wheat damaged or destroyed."

Pinta sat back, stunned by the extent of the damage. So many fires spread out over so many sectors. That couldn't be by chance. The AI voice sputtered.

"Disregard. Disregard. There are no fires. Repeat. No fires reported in any sector."

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