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Two older women walk into a pizza joint. They shuffle on unsteady legs to their table. When seated they nervously ask the waitress the price of each item, and their running total so far. Starting with a salad, two slices, and a soda each, they quickly delete items to get under $20. No salad, one slice each. "Is the bread free?" they ask hopefully. Painfully hopefully.
On one side of the two old women sits a young couple. One surmises they have escaped from a tiny child or two and are luxuriating in being adult and alone together, if only for a stolen hour. One the other side is a mature couple. One imagines their children successfully out of the nest and them trying to adapt to being alone together, now for the rest of their lives. The young couple gets the waitress' attention. Discretely they tell the waitress, give the women a second slice each, on us. She nods and scurries off, scribbling on her order pad. The mature couple on the other side flag down the waitress. Give the women that salad, on us, they say, unobtrusively. The women, as one item after the other is delivered splutter their disbelief. The waitress winks at the couples and each of them, in turn, assures the women that it's all right; they should enjoy it, if only just this once. And, as the waitress walks past the bar toward the kitchen the college kid grabbing a slice and a beer before heading to his night class slips her a ten. Your tip, he tells her, for taking care of the two women.
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 I saw a couple of these #onelinestory on Twitter. I thought it an interesting concept to tell a complete story in one sentence, as I interpreted the meme. Below are a few stabs I took. Drop a comment or respond to me on Twitter with yours!
Stunned, the obese cat dolefully returned the cherub's smile, ignoring the toy cast hopefully across the floor. When you left my heart froze and the rest of my body has been slowly dying ever since. The dandelion puffs exploded one after the other, spreading seeds with the same efficacy as the joy on young Rachael's face. Steam rolled over the buffalo and the Lakota with equal indifference as the land lost its color. I touch your face and the ice encrusting your heart melts. Alien ships slant at impossible angles to bring energy-capturing panels into line, saving the ship's inhabitants from freezing to death. Brother holds his sister, rejoices in her birth and anticipates a life of laughter, challenge, perserverence, and love. |
AuthorMe as a critic (be careful! the harshness will be well concealed!) Archives
April 2024
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