Till the Mountains Turn to Dust (The Chronicles of Eridia)

by J. S. Volpe

  * * *

  T-mail transmission:

  From: Reynard Fuggs

  To: Solace Tenant

  July 10, 6692; 9:03 PM:

  Dear Solace,

  And the heat wave smolders on. Today it was 103 in the shade. The town is dead, the streets empty, the fields brown and dry, the sand too hot to touch with your bare skin, and unlike in Serobar, there’s no chance of a thunderstorm anytime soon. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a Little Ice Age right now.

  I wasn’t sure if you’d remember my long-ago wife Kay. As for how it turned out…well, let’s just say you weren’t the only one I disappeared on. I am sorry about that. I truly am. It was not because I wanted it. It was entirely against my will. I’d tell you what happened, but for one thing, I’m not entirely sure I can explain it in a way that would make sense, and for another, even after all these years it’s still hard for me to talk about. Let me just repeat that I didn’t mean or want to just vanish on you (or on Kay) like that, and I am deeply sorry it happened.

  Did you hear Gordon Quat’s announcement that he’s planning to make only one more film and then retire? He refuses to say what the movie’ll be about, only that it’s a small, focused piece a lot like his first film, Bitter. I must say, it’ll be disappointing not to have any more new Quat films to look forward to. The guy’s been churning them out like clockwork for almost fifty years. I know that’s not really a long time to folks like us, but in some strange way it feels like Quat’s been around a lot longer than half a century.

  In honor of his impending retirement, let’s try another round of Q & A: What’s your favorite Quat movie, and why?

  Hope all is well,

  —Reynard