Story! "Michigan Seems Like a Dream to Me Now"

[sonia]

Michigan Seems Like a Dream to Me Now by Marissa Lingen, mrissa. A soft, gentle post-apocalyptic bedtime story.

I was surprised to hear the narrator called "mommy" toward the end - I had assumed it was a dad putting the kid to bed. Not sure whether I was projecting from similar stories read in childhood that always had male protagonists, or if there was some other signal that made my brain think it was a guy speaking. I'm curious if anyone else had that reaction.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

Curious--do you happen to remember any names or titles for the earlier stories you've read?

[sonia]

I imprinted on “The Stars are Ours” by Andre Norton. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_Are_Ours!

[thistleingrey]

Ah, I see. I've read it (amidst a pile of Nortons, aged 8-12 or so), but I'd forgotten the dad entirely!

[silveradept]

Maybe your version was an earlier version of the one I read, because I didn't see a "mommy" in the one that I looked at. I think it's a good thought experiment, to see how you would read the story on the assumption that the narrator is a man versus the assumption that the narrator is a woman.

Also, as someone who's lived a lot in Mshign, the memories selected for the very short story are familiar ones, even if they're not the exact ones I have.

[sonia]

I’m glad the story resonated for you!

Click “Display Entire Story” at the bottom.

Mommy, says her sleepy little voice. It's okay if you tell me about that very big water though. The silly big water.

[silveradept]

Ah, there it is. Apparently my ability to observe things had gone to terrible, given how much I've been missing the obvious. That said, it does sound like a Mommy story to me, because there's an informality about it that I usually don't get with Daddy stories.

[sonia]

... huh. Gender expectations are mysterious!