This story was originally submitted to The Toronto Star Short Story Contest in 2010, but sadly did not place in the top three... :( Well, their loss is your gain, as I'm now happy to make the extended version of this piece available for all to read, for free.
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| "The Lost Memory" |
"The Lost Memory" has the honour of being my very first short story, and it remains one of my favourites. It was the first story that I wrote with the archetype approach in mind, as well. The tale is heavily inspired by The Hero's Descent into the Underworld story arc (ie. think of Odysseus' adventure in The Odyssey), and also includes elements that mirror A Christmas Carol. The characters are very archetypal as well - even their names contain an underlying meaning!
This story will eventually be included in the "In-Futura ( In the future... )" short story collection in Part I: Happiness. Here is the synopsis:
In the future... memories and thoughts are stored on devices strapped to our arms, freeing our minds from the need to remember. This seemed like the perfect kind of future for Jason, a father who prides himself on the size of his family photo and video collection. But when Jason encounters a figure who strikes a chord in the deepest recesses of his heart, he comes to the realization that he would give it all up in order to find his "Lost Memory".
(Four Stars) "This is an entertaining, fast-paced story. The ‘science’ is certainly leaning closer to fiction than science, but the future world building is nicely done and the writing style easy to read." — Enjay Elm (SmashWords Review)
Self-Published in February 2011
