Dear Mr. Smith…(Micro Fiction)

Posted on by Prior...

Hello Readers – I am combining fiction challenges this week.

First, over at What Pegman Saw (here) – Pegman is exploring Pico Duarte, Dominican Republic. The challenge is to write a fiction piece of 150 words (or less) inspired by the current location. I was pondering what to write about when the news came in that Genesis Suero, originally from the Dominican Republic, was crowned Miss New York (article is here).

And so for some fiction fun, I imagined that Genesis Suero, our Miss NY, wrote a letter to a U.S. Marine that came to her hometown around the time her mother was born back in 1965 (because in April 1965, U.S. military forces landed in the Dominican Republic for the fourth time in 58 years).

Part 1 (#wps fiction word count: 150)

Dear Mr. Smith,

Your grandfather was a hero to me. He came to Compartición, our hometown, in April 1965. My grandmother, mi abuela, told the story the same way every time: On a hazy, aguacero day she was late in her pregnancy when troops thundered the streets. Her water broke and she began screaming. This Marine, Smith, came to her, unable to speak Spanish, he stared into her eyes, placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Strength from his hand moved through her entire being – she called it “ratatá.”

The town doctor arrived and my mother was born. Later that night, Smith left chocolate bars, bread, and canned goods on the doorstep. I somehow feel his kindness trickled through mi familia and helped pave the way for me to be born.

Many thanks to your grandfather and all of your family,

Con amor,

Genesis Suero

Part 2 (#friday fictioneers word count: 100)

P.S.

Mr. Smith, Enclosed you will find a photo that I would like you to place in your grandfather’s coffin. When he came back to visit the Dominican Republic, he took us to an amusement park and then we visited the statue of Juan Pablo Duarte, which involved a three-day mountainous hike with a mule. This allowed us to see part of the Caribbean we did not know existed. My grandmother said standing atop Pico Duarte was a peak experience for her. And this photo, which reminded her of that day, stayed on her nightstand for decades. Gracias again.

 

 

Fun fact:

Dominican Spanish is a form of Caribbean Spanish noted for the fast speed and shortening of words. I chose two Dominican Spanish words for my fiction. 

aguacero = rainy

ratatá = really cool 

Thanks for reading my fiction musings….

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15 thoughts on “Dear Mr. Smith…(Micro Fiction)”

    1. Hi T – thanks – well I started joining fiction challenges in January 2017 -13 months ago – but then was offline for a while – and so it was more of a 2017 goal- but now I am carrying it into 2018.

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        1. thanks – and I have enjoyed many of yours over the years – well mostly your Friday Fictioneers ones – and thanks again for the encouragement – I enjoy it but I think it takes me longer than you all who do it regularly – I am amazed at how fast so many folks whip their micros out – and they are good too – but I will enjoy my pace 🙂 – or try to

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        2. I do write very fast! I sometimes post within 10 minutes of seeing the FF photo prompt. But it isn’t a race, so take your time and keep your own pace.

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    1. THANKS for reading, Sha.
      And with your travels I am sure you see the dialects change.
      And right here in my city we have some who have a “half” southern accent…. which is not my preference – just sayin’ lol

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  5. Your creativity is top draw, Y. (I have nosed a bit more around your website and love the new look and discovered what Y stands for – I know, I am sloooooow.) This story has a very slow and sun drenched feeling to it, which I enjoyed. You have a warm way with words. 🙂

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    1. Hi Kelvin – and the slow and sun drenched was a nice thing to think about with the post – THANKS for that and for the “warm way with words” it was nice to read

      ((and hope it was not game playin on the “Y”))

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