The Bradbury Chronicles

Old-Fashioned Art

         The sudden darkness was confusing.

         Richie jabbed the key again, as if pressing harder might revive the screen. Nothing. He leaned forward, pressed buttons, and finally looked up at Mrs. Slocombe, the head librarian, whose expression was already disapproving.

         “The computer doesn’t work,” he said, his voice close to shrill. “What’s wrong with it?”

         “Do I look like someone who can fix that thing?” she snapped.

         “Well, someone has to! I’m desperate—”

         “Lower your voice,” Slocombe hissed, though the tiny library was otherwise empty. “I’ll get Harry to fix it on Friday.”

         “Friday? I can’t wait until Friday! I need to send a letter to Brahm—”

         Slocombe slid a blank sheet of paper and a pen across the desk. “Write it the old-fashioned way. Geoff will pick up the mail in three hours. Miss him, and you’ll be waiting another week.”

         Richie stared at the paper as if it were alien. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d written more than a few lines by hand. Years, at least.

         Still, desperate times called for desperate measures. With his heart pounding, he began to write, painfully aware there was no backspace key to erase mistakes. The letter took nearly an hour to finish, leaving his fingers cramped and aching.

         He mailed it anyway, uneasy. In a world run by technology, he wondered whether a handwritten letter from such a remote town would even be read.

         A month later, Geoff appeared at his doorstep with a large white manila envelope bearing the embossed emblem of Brahm College.

         With trembling hands, Richie opened it to find a handwritten letter inside.

         “It’s always a pleasure to see that the art of writing has not been lost,” the Dean wrote. “And it’s my honour to welcome you to Brahm College, Richard Dawson. Congratulations.”




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Word Count: 300
Prompt: Write a story that includes the line: “The computer doesn’t work.”
Written For: "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"