About Too Close to the Sun
by Willa Okati
53 pages / 22800 words
ISBN: 1-934166-10-3, 978-1-934166-10-9
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc
Java has lost a lot in the last year. His job, the mobility in one leg, his lover. He's hit rock bottom, but when he sees the crazy guy who's about to jump off a building in the worst part of town, he sees a chance to recapture the decent fireman he once was, and do the right thing.
Raine may not need saving, but he needs Java. Lost and bereft, Raine needs hope, and someone to believe in him. The two of them put aside all of their problems long enough for one magical encounter that may just heal them both. Can they learn to fly together?
Review
Elisa Viperas, author of The Prophet and the Star, writes: I get giddy when I think of Willa Okati’s supernatural fiction. Okati has an eye for story ideas that run the gamut from deliciously unnerving to warm and comforting. Often, she manages to combine the two and create a distinct flavor of supernatural fiction. No matter where on the spectrum her writing falls, it is always a great and sexy read. Her new work, Too Close to the Sun, is no exception.
Willa Okati introduces us to two very different men with one thing in common: each is a distinct study in frailty. A tragic accident has cost Java his career as a fireman, his social life, and even his health. He swallows his dignity to claim his disability checks, and that’s where we find him: convinced he’s spiraling down and suspecting there’s nothing left to live for. Raine spiraled down as well: literally fallen from the sky and heartbroken to discover he can no longer fly. It’s sheer coincidence that Java finds him in a seeming moment of desperation.
Raine and Java save each other in different ways and in doing this, learn to save themselves. As always, Okati’s concepts are brilliant and her writing sensual and nuanced. This is a magical, uplifting story, very like an urban fairy tale.
Sample
"Everything seems to be in order, Mr. Tomas." The case worker shuffled raggedy-edged doctor's reports, court orders, and what seemed like a hundred different forms into as neat a stack as she could make.
Slipping them into a manila file pocket, she smiled up. "So, we've got the formalities out of the way. How are you doing? I mean, really. Not all this stuff." She waved her hand dismissively at the legalese. "Tell me about yourself, Mr. Tomas."
Her "guest" didn't look up from his cup of office coffee, burned into bitter syrup after a long day of sitting in the pot. He stirred the cold mess with a plastic twig, poking at lumps of creamer that refused to dissolve. "Usually I take my caffeine black," he said, voice low. "I thought, how much worse could your motor oil taste? Guess I found out."
"Mr. Tomas --"
"Javier." He raised his head. "My friends call me Java." Raising the cup, he offered her a half-smile. "On account of the habit, you know?" He took a hesitant sip. "God, you guys need to just stop trying and buy instant."
"Hey, don't think I'm not tempted, Java." The woman tried out his nickname but Java didn't bother reacting. She'd use the short version a few times to be polite, slip back into Javier, and the next time they met, he'd be Mr. Tomas again.
Ah, hell. He couldn't be bothered to get annoyed. Besides, Java kind of liked the woman, although he always remembered to call her Carly, the way she'd asked when they first met. He remembered things about people. Couldn't help noticing what they liked and what they hated. Sometimes he saw things they loved deep and true.
Moments like those made him want to squirm. He took another sip of viscous coffee and shifted his weight on Carly's hard plastic office chair. Too short for Java, it made his bad leg ache if he sat folded up in there for more than a few minutes.
Carly saw him trying to hide a wince and made the appropriate sympathetic noise. "I really will try to find a cushion before next time. Javier. Java."
"Appreciate the thought."
"So have you made any... er... strides in rebuilding your personal life?" Carly asked, leaning forward a bit, as if they were friends sharing secrets. Like he didn't know she'd write everything down later.
Java twisted his mouth into a half-smile and shrugged.
"Javier, it's been over a year," Carly said, disappointed. "I know what Gary did --"
"We don't talk about Gary!"