Thank you to Kenneth Yu and Mia Tijam for giving my (sort of) science fiction fairytale “The Ocean Above her” a home in Philippine Genre Stories.

My wife and I both went through life-threatening illnesses over the last year, and consequently my writing productivity was very poor. I’m happy I managed to complete this story given how trying our circumstances were.

I had originally wanted to write a literal children’s fairy tale but I could not manage to keep the language simple enough for a pre-teen to understand without losing the heart of the story. Although this generation ship Sci-Fi story is no longer specifically written for kids, I hope I was able to capture that sense of wonder that children have when encountering something astonishing, as well as the bewilderment that comes when facing something as dark and painful as the death of someone they love.

I also wanted to challenge the notion that a far-future story had to be written in a cold, technobabble-filled manner. I wanted a future like the handwoven inabel blankets my grandmother used to buy for us when we were children – something warm, comforting and familiar.

My humble submission is PGS’ story for December, but it’s not a Christmas story. However if you want to read something about endings and beginnings, familial love, and the importance of remembering, please read The Ocean Above Her. If you like it, kindly leave me a comment or RT. Thank you!