“Providing for his Family” • by Matt Krizan

Kellen eyes the memory broker’s extraction device warily.

“It’s painless,” says the memory broker, “and you won’t even remember your dream existed.”

Which is the whole point, Kellen knows. Still, he hesitates.

Be a man.

Dad’s voice in his head. The same voice that had discouraged Kellen’s dream of being an artist, always telling him to be practical.

Gotta provide for your family.

Now, with that family growing—Kellen’s wife pregnant—why not be practical and just get rid of the dream for good?

But then he thinks about his child, wonders how he could possibly encourage their dreams after giving up on his own.

“Never mind,” says Kellen. “I think I’ll hang onto it for a while.”

 

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Matt Krizan is a former certified public accountant who writes from his home in Royal Oak, Michigan. His short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in various publications, including Factor Four Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, and Martian Magazine. Find him online at mattkrizan.com and on Twitter as @MattKrizan.

This time The Pete Wood Challenge was to write a flash fiction story of up to 125 words in length using the prompt, “reservation.” To see the previous winners of previous challenges, click this link. 

If you’d like to read more of Matt’s stories, we also have “Working His Way Back to Her,” “The First Stage,” and “Christmas Collections” on this site.

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