Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 128 by Neil Clarke

Author:Neil Clarke [Clarke, Neil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: chinese, clarkesworld, Hugo Nominee, interviews, magazine, novelette, science fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction And Fantasy, science fiction magazine, short stories, short story
Publisher: Wyrm Publishing
Published: 2017-05-01T00:00:00+00:00

About the Author

E. Catherine Tobler is a Sturgeon Award finalist and editor at Shimmer Magazine.

The Person Who Saw Cetus

Tang Fei, translated by S. Qiouyi Lu

“What should I do? Turn gray with the pitch-black night?”

She would always remember that summer day. Father’s enormous shadow settled upon her; she looked up from her workbook.

“Lilian.” Father squatted before her desk, the crimson clouds outside draped across his shoulders. Father said her name again, then once more. Funny; never had there been a man like him who delighted so much in his daughter’s name.

She laughed. “What?”

“What are you doing?” He knew that she was doing her homework, of course, but he longed for a father-daughter conversation.

Mother said that Father didn’t have a way with words, that he was quiet. She couldn’t imagine her father like that. But he definitely didn’t quite know how to communicate. He’d leave for work and half a month would fly by; when he returned, he’d only speak nonsense to his family.

Father stood beside her, looking at her homework. The computer had already gone into screensaver mode; bright green, heart-shaped clouds darted across the black interface. Father swept his hand over the screen. A depth view of the interior of a railway car burst onto the gallium nitride screen. The scenery outside sped by the windows; inside, fourteen pink goldfish sat stiffly on the same bench, their bodies swaying with the forward motion of the train, their eyes spinning as they watched the clouds whirling throughout the cabin. This was the screensaver that Father had programmed just for her.

The only one in the whole universe. He always took great pains to make strange and unique gifts for her.

Father picked up the computer and tapped the goldfishes’ heads in a particular order, unlocking the computer.

“Summer homework? Hasn’t school started already?” he asked.

Of course he knew that this was summer homework. Mother had sent him to check up on her, after all.

“It’s due tomorrow.”

Father took a closer look. Although Lilian was only ten years old, she could still sense her father’s awkwardness. He really wasn’t good at this.

“Why did you leave this question blank?” Father asked. And only he would ask such a question; the answer was obvious, embarrassing. Embarrassing to the point where Lilian couldn’t even respond.

“Write about an unforgettable trip to outer space that you took this summer.” He read the question aloud, and then he understood.

The sky had darkened. Cars whistled past on the nearby highway, the sound sharp and penetrating.

It was as if they were sinking, sinking from the abundance of the Earth to this tiny apartment. Compared to the peeling outer walls, the dilapidated furniture inside wasn’t such an eyesore.

Regardless of whether they’re rich or poor, people can always find a way to live with dignity, with beauty. Mother had said that. Lilian’s parents lived like that, too. They did their best to make their home comfortable and fitting; they tried their hardest to create the same learning environment for her as her classmates had. Even if

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