"A Letter from the Clearys" is a short story written by Connie Willis published in the short story collection Fire Watch. In 1983 it won the Nebula Award for best science fiction published in the two years prior to 1983.
The story starts with a girl and her dog making their way home through the countryside after a visit to the town post office.
The main character is living with her parents, older brother and a neighbour. She feels somewhat neglec...
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"A Letter from the Clearys" is a short story written by Connie Willis published in the short story collection Fire Watch. In 1983 it won the Nebula Award for best science fiction published in the two years prior to 1983.
The story starts with a girl and her dog making their way home through the countryside after a visit to the town post office.
The main character is living with her parents, older brother and a neighbour. She feels somewhat neglected as her family are very busy building a greenhouse. In addition, while calling her dog she contrasts him with her first dog. When the protagonist arrives home she reveals that she has found a letter from their friends, the Clearys. This family was due to have visited them 'before' but never came and they had always wondered why, wondering if a letter had been misposted to another family's postbox. The family is somewhat reluctant to hear the letter read but the protagonist reads it out anyway.
As Mrs Cleary asks for news about the family,...
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