PodCastle Miniature 29: Birthday Wish
Show Notes
Rated PG. Contains ten-year-old boys, and thusly some gross-out humor.
Read by Grammar Girl.
This piece won an honorable mention in the Escape Pod flash fiction contest for stories under 300 words. (Contest thread here)
Birthday Wish
by Tina Connolly
Mrs. Lemons stroked her son’s hair. “Joshua is very mature,” she said. “He’s not like those other ten-year-old boys.”
“Of course,” said Mrs. Dumpling. “My Benji is an angel, too. Benji, stop kicking their cat. Isn’t Joshua’s cake lovely?”
“Yes,” agreed Mrs. Lemons. “We’re so excited for his wish. We’ve talked of nothing else for months. Joshua, stop eating those candles. It will be perfect.”
About the Author
Tina Connolly
Tina Connolly’s books include Ironskin, Seriously Wicked, and several official Choose Your Own Adventure books. She has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards, and is delighted to be one of the co-hosts of Escape Pod. Her newest story, Sunshine Hills Reality Edit, is about AI slop and queer community, and can be found online at Future Tense Fiction.
