| General Fiction posted June 10, 2022 |
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A flash fiction contest entry.
Life's Work
by C2
Since he had been able to lift the heavy tools from the bins in his father's garage, Billy Smallwood had tinkered with engines. He grew to appreciate the certainty of speed and force, and he loved the idea of using technology to harness the sun's power.
Though he'd been born with the gift for invention, Billy never let the passion for his hobby divert him from his goals. He married his high school sweetheart, started a family and built a successful air conditioning repair business to provide for them.
By his late forties, his years of what his wife affectionately termed "piddling" had finally paid off. He had invented a generator that could produce over fifty kilowatts of electricity per day without fuel using only the energy from the surrounding earth and air.
He had flown to Guadalajara on a lark to meet with a potential angel investor who had written to express an interest in helping fund the commercial development of the Smallwood Magnetic Induction Motor. Billy knew the detailed plans described in his letter, if achieved, would make him as famous as Edison.
When he was found two days later drowned in the claw-footed bathtub in his suite at the Hotel Morales, no one could remember his having had any visitors. In his telephone call to Mrs. Smallwood, the hotel manager explained that local authorities had ruled Billy's death a suicide. There was no mention of her husband's briefcase which contained the original blueprints for his device.
250 Word Flash Fiction contest entry
Since he had been able to lift the heavy tools from the bins in his father's garage, Billy Smallwood had tinkered with engines. He grew to appreciate the certainty of speed and force, and he loved the idea of using technology to harness the sun's power.
Though he'd been born with the gift for invention, Billy never let the passion for his hobby divert him from his goals. He married his high school sweetheart, started a family and built a successful air conditioning repair business to provide for them.
By his late forties, his years of what his wife affectionately termed "piddling" had finally paid off. He had invented a generator that could produce over fifty kilowatts of electricity per day without fuel using only the energy from the surrounding earth and air.
He had flown to Guadalajara on a lark to meet with a potential angel investor who had written to express an interest in helping fund the commercial development of the Smallwood Magnetic Induction Motor. Billy knew the detailed plans described in his letter, if achieved, would make him as famous as Edison.
When he was found two days later drowned in the claw-footed bathtub in his suite at the Hotel Morales, no one could remember his having had any visitors. In his telephone call to Mrs. Smallwood, the hotel manager explained that local authorities had ruled Billy's death a suicide. There was no mention of her husband's briefcase which contained the original blueprints for his device.
Though he'd been born with the gift for invention, Billy never let the passion for his hobby divert him from his goals. He married his high school sweetheart, started a family and built a successful air conditioning repair business to provide for them.
By his late forties, his years of what his wife affectionately termed "piddling" had finally paid off. He had invented a generator that could produce over fifty kilowatts of electricity per day without fuel using only the energy from the surrounding earth and air.
He had flown to Guadalajara on a lark to meet with a potential angel investor who had written to express an interest in helping fund the commercial development of the Smallwood Magnetic Induction Motor. Billy knew the detailed plans described in his letter, if achieved, would make him as famous as Edison.
When he was found two days later drowned in the claw-footed bathtub in his suite at the Hotel Morales, no one could remember his having had any visitors. In his telephone call to Mrs. Smallwood, the hotel manager explained that local authorities had ruled Billy's death a suicide. There was no mention of her husband's briefcase which contained the original blueprints for his device.
 Recognized |
#33 June 2022 |
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