The Whale

by Tara Lazar

When the whale swam up the estuary to our village, men in matching cars appeared and blocked access to the water. The fishermen could not retrieve their pots, the women could not wash their children’s clothes, and the mill could not grind the grain. Life in our village froze like an old oil painting, cracked and weather-worn; laughter and birdsong swept away in the fierce ocean winds. Unable to shift the beast, the men and cars vanished and we were left to contend with the trapped animal ourselves - frightened, angry, desperate. Mama said the whale was a God sent to us, although we were inferior mortals and not privy to its purpose. We could only wait for it to reveal itself, like we waited for Papa’s boat to one day return.

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Tara Lazar first published in Six Sentences a decade ago. She’s a literary chameleon, writing dark tales for adults but humor for kids. Her 10th picture book, BLOOP, from HarperCollins, features an alien who visits earth and believes the dogs are in charge. Follow her publishing escapades on Twitter.