By Prospero Dae
“It smells like propane.”
“How many times am I going to tell you that you are imagining things.”
“How do we heat the house?”
“Propane. But it’s safe. And there’s no leak! Look, our canary is still kicking. Incidentally, I was thinking of getting a little friend for Dynamite.”
“What’s the fact that the blasted bird is still alive got to do with anything?”
“If there were to be a leak, the canary would die. Plain and simple. It’s been proven.”
“Isn’t it non-stick coating they’re sensitive to?”
“I don’t know! Look, there’s nothing to worry about. If I could just—”
I don’t know how Susanne can tell a “he” from a “she” in this tale, but it is definitely a cacophonous situation and they obviously don’t know what propane smells like…or probably a burning teflon pan, either. And all they had to do was to get a scratch-and-sniff brochure from the gas company so they would be informed. Alas, it’s too late. Personally, I feel most sorry for the canary.
[see my comment to Sue]
Sometimes it’s tough to get those pesky dialogue tags in there with only 101 words to work with.
I feel sorry for Dynamite too. (And this is why I consider this piece to be a tragedy.)
And he didn’t even get to say “I told you so.”
or she, because it can be he-she, or she-he, or, today, he-he (as in very funny), or she-she (as in that chichi dress is da bomb), but not they-he or they-she, which is still prohibited. [see Cynthia’s comment]
people (the few who can think) always complain about the quality of advertisement here in Sicily, but there is a very good series which is meant to raise awareness regarding fire-related catastrophes, and it goes a bit like in this story – though without the verbal brilliance of your story, that goes without saying
(they always finish with a photograph showing the family members who have just had the dialogue, burning in flames – not a very subtle device, i much prefer the —… but then again, they want to reach a much wider audience, and too much subtlety gets in the way :- )
An advertising campaign on pyromania would be a nice adjunct. I’d also run a few spots on spontaneous human combustion as it occurs in Bleak House, which leads us, crookedly, to Dickens–and thus back to literature. We’ve covered public safety announcements and Victorian novels. What next? Oh, yes…ornithology.
The clock is ticking for that poor canary!
I think he (she), see previous discussion on gender, is already in canary heaven.
Never a fan of propane. Neither was Dynamite, may he/she rest in peace. I am however, a fan of this story.
Thank you, Elena. Even your comments have perfect form!