OPEN SHORT STORY WINNER
THE FEELINGS MACHINE
AT AN UNDERFUNDED FIRE STATION IN NEWTON
BY MARY FRANCIS
Mary lives in Pōneke Wellington, capital city of Aotearoa New Zealand. She writes flash fiction and short stories, and performs spontaneous theatre and stand-up. Her stories have been published by Takahē, LISP, Cranked Anvil, Reflex Fiction, Queer Sci Fi, Bath Flash Fiction, Grindstone and Best Small Fictions anthologies. In 2023 she won First Place in the Te Tauihu Short Story Awards and the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition.
Len’s standing by the feelings machine, eating a banana at 2am.
I don’t think he’s ever looked at the feelings machine since it got installed. Most of us have had a go on it, mucking about, but Len never did, just shook his head to himself like when we’re passing round a good gif.
Thing about Len is, he’s like the dad you wish you’d had, if you didn’t have a good dad. It was Len who taught me how to handle shift work. I’d worked in the Countdown stockroom and in the bakery and I reckoned I knew it all, but I needed a quiet word from Len because four days of 12-hours on is a different kettle of fish.
I’m always pleased when I’m rostered on with Len. Partly because it feels better. When Len’s in the station house everyone relaxes. Like, knowing everything’ll be okay cause Len’s there. But also it means I might get a moment of just me and Len, like now, 2am beside the feelings machine. I reckon everyone’s secretly angling for a bit of one-on-one with Len. Maybe get some words of wisdom or he might say you’re doing well. The sort of thing to let you know you’re on the right track, or a word to the wise if you need it.