Story of the Story, Day 12 - "The Thing in the Refrigerator That Could Stop Time"
In which one's doubts are made manifest
For my ongoing “Story of the Story” series, I have been discussing the stories in my debut collection, Histories Within Us. Today, we’re talking about my story “The Thing in the Refrigerator That Could Stop Time.”
Before I get onto the story, I have some exciting writing news!
I sold “Espie Droger Dreams of War,” my anti-DOGE story, to Lightspeed Magazine
“Threat Assessment,” the novelette I co-wrote with Mercurio D. Rivera will be appearing in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction next month
Arley Sorg interviews me in the latest Clarkesworld Magazine
My novel Space Trucker Jess is coming later this month! Pre-order here.
Publishers Weekly gave this lovely review of Space Trucker Jess).
The Thing in the Refrigerator That Could Stop Time
Dick is a middle-aged bus driver who runs the route from New York to Atlantic City and back, and he’s tired. He’s tired of his cheating wife and he’s tired of all the drunken, rude, slovenly people that frequent his bus, and he’s tired of life. And one night, while driving over the Verazzano Bridge, he considers driving himself and all his passengers over the barrier and into the Hudson. Then a song comes on the radio. “Paperback Writer,” by The Beatles.
That’s when he sees them.
Grotesque, small, demon-like figures whispering thoughts of doubt and despair into everyone’s ears. And Dick is the only one who can see them.
But here’s the odd thing: this only happens while he listens to “Paperback Writer.” If and when he ever stops hearing the song, he forgets all about the things whispering in people’s ears, and he falls back into thoughts of sullen despair.
What follows is a moment in Dick’s life — mere seconds — where Dick tries with all his will to keep the thing locked in a small refrigerator before it can get out and make him despair and forget again.
I wrote this story in what I like to call a “breathless” style, a flurry of prose and run-on sentences that poured out of me like water from a hose. I think it fits the short timespan of the story well.
Our thoughts of self-doubt can and often do sabotage us. We don’t take chances, risks, or go on adventures because our self-doubt tells us we can’t, or shouldn’t, or won’t. We get locked in a cycle of self-inflicted pain, and it can feel impossible to break free.
I took the idea of self-doubt and insecurity and made it tangible. The things narrating dark thoughts into our ears are our our doubts made manifest. And Dick can only see them when listening to his favorite song, because this is the one thing — the only thing — in his life that can bring him joy.
By making our self-doubt into a tangible thing, it becomes possible to doubt the doubt. To see that the negative thoughts and cycles of despair don’t have to be trusted or believed. It isn’t easy, but we can break free.
You can read “The Thing in the Refrigerator That Could Stop Time” in my short story collection, Histories Within Us, which is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo and Indie Bound, and elsewhere.
Hey friend, pre-orders matter! Pre-order Space Trucker Jess now!