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Julia
This story was originally published in Day One, a weekly literary journal dedicated to short fiction and poetry from emerging writers.
Twelve-year-old Julia is distraught when her father—an oceanographer whom she adores—abruptly abandons the family. Living in a silent house full of her mother’s grief and her sister’s bitterness, Julia has her own theories about her father’s disappearance. She believes he left to find the source of an unexplainable oceanic sound that he’d recorded a year earlier and named after her. Her hypothesis is that if she can find the sound’s origin, then she will also find her father. As Julia sets out on a perilous quest toward an oncoming hurricane, she confronts the ocean at its most violent and puts to rest the hopeful adolescent fantasy of being able to find answers if you just know where to look.
Twelve-year-old Julia is distraught when her father—an oceanographer whom she adores—abruptly abandons the family. Living in a silent house full of her mother’s grief and her sister’s bitterness, Julia has her own theories about her father’s disappearance. She believes he left to find the source of an unexplainable oceanic sound that he’d recorded a year earlier and named after her. Her hypothesis is that if she can find the sound’s origin, then she will also find her father. As Julia sets out on a perilous quest toward an oncoming hurricane, she confronts the ocean at its most violent and puts to rest the hopeful adolescent fantasy of being able to find answers if you just know where to look.
- GenresShort Stories
23 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2014
2 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Lara Prescott
8 books975 followersLara Prescott's debut novel, THE SECRETS WE KEPT, is out September 3, 2019 from Alfred A. Knopf (US) and Hutchinson (UK), and will be translated into 29 languages.
Lara received her MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas in 2018. She grew up in Pennsylvania and studied political science at American University in Washington, D.C. Prior to writing fiction, Lara worked as a political campaign consultant.
Lara's writing has appeared in The Southern Review, The Hudson Review, Crazyhorse, Tin House Flash Friday, and more. She lives in Austin, Texas.
Lara received her MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas in 2018. She grew up in Pennsylvania and studied political science at American University in Washington, D.C. Prior to writing fiction, Lara worked as a political campaign consultant.
Lara's writing has appeared in The Southern Review, The Hudson Review, Crazyhorse, Tin House Flash Friday, and more. She lives in Austin, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 10, 2019
“Julia” is quite good. It is just a short story but would make a excellent beginning to a novel. I hope the author will develop it into something more.
March 2, 2015
A wonderful short story about the bond a father and daughter share and how him leaving effects the family. A well-written, convincing narrative.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews