Short Stories

Just a small story about how narrow minded some people can be, and how to open up the eyes and see the world.

“Short stories always have a deeper meaning, you know,” Catherine closed the book she just read. It was only about thirteen pages long, and seemed well below her intelligence, considering she was twenty-six. But it was perfect. She looked up at Adam, who was reading the newspaper. He turned to her, and looking from under his reading glasses. “Catherine, you just started reading. You won’t find a deeper meaning in Green Eggs and Ham,” he looked back to his stories, reading down the line. She scowled at him and stood. He continued to focus on his newspaper until she crossed the room and pulled the newspaper away. She replaced it with herself, sitting in his lap and holding him around the neck. “Hear me out,” she looked into his eyes. His rolled them, and he took his glasses off, nodding, “Speak.” She smiled, and began her explanation, “You see, Adam, the main character who’s denying the meal his friend is offering him shows how unwilling we are to try new things. We get so comfortable with life that we get into a routine, and then what are we? A bunch of emotionless zombies or robots, and when something does go wrong, we’re ill prepared! So then, we are stressed out by the littlest changes in life. We always need to try new things, no matter if we’re good at them, or if we’re terrible!” Catherine’s smile was radiant, and she awaited his reply, her eyes lit up like a child’s. Adam looked at her, then at the Doctorate's degree on the wall, his name, and the dean’s signed neatly across it. He smiled at her then, and kissed her softly. “Even though I have the degree, you are wiser than I will ever be.”

Author's Note

:) Thought about this from the story of Scout and Atticus in the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. A friend told me it reminded him of them, though they are a married couple in my story.

Reviews

[Willys Watson]

I love this short, short story but think it will be more effective if written in the standard story format with each spoken dialogue as it's own separate paragraph.

[Dan Hiland]

Nice little read. I can't say much about it, due to its short length, but the dialogue keeps things moving. I like the contrast between the two characters. I also like the fact that she's reading a Dr. Seuss book- though I thought the story might be more interesting were she an alien who had never heard of Seuss, to see what her take on the story would be. Though I don't understand the context (if there is one here), the conversation was a little too pat- some sermonizing going on.

I'll take a look at your longer works when I get a chance. Thanks for sharing.

[foxfly_grace]

Thank you very much! I enjoyed writing it. :)