The kids just stand quietly and stare with open mouths. I can’t imagine what it must be like to see the Pacific for the very first time.
At home on Mars, “oceans” are empty wastes of iron oxides and dust. These kids struggle to stand at one G, and they look horribly emaciated by our standards. Here in Malaysia, the gravity is triple what’s normal for them, and I fear a fall that snaps one of their Martian-thin leg bones.
Just one more stop before they go back to the military hospital. “O.K. kids, who wants some McDonalds and Marlboros?”
100 words. Inspired by this week’s Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers prompt:
It occurs that a little explanation may be in order–in Malaysia, kids are actively encouraged to become smokers. The cigarette companies wield enormous political and economic power over the Malaysian economy.
ParkInkSpot 