I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 10, 2024] “Tardy Suit”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my seventh time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

Ten years of stories! Yikes, where does the time go?
When the first Short Story Advent Calendar launched, in 2015, we frankly had no clue we’d still be sitting here today, continuing to offer up batches of tasty stories fresh from the oven. To celebrate this milestone, we’ve packed the 10th SSAC with a mix of new and familiar names—ideal company for those chilly winter nights ahead.

The author of this story was Thomas Pierce.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.  Although today doesn’t have an interview just this blurb:

It’s December 10. Please enjoy this interview with Thomas Pierce, author of The Afterlives, responsibly.

This story is a puzzle.

A man inside a Tardy Suit is trying to communicate. Tardy as in fire-retardant.  He is a rescue worker.  But he is contracted to only rescue things, not people.  And only things that are insured by his company, Wick.

The suit is attached to him–if it is not removed properly, he will die.  It is not a job that anybody actually wants–its what becomes of people who have hit rock bottom.

He is not able to talk, either, so the story is written as if it was handed out on scraps of paper–jerky and disjointed sentences communicate well enough.

An incident occurs in which he intends to go outside of his actual job description–which could cause the end of him.

The last sentence is a pretty emotional gut punch after the choppily told and somewhat irritating story.