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101 Word Short Stories

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By The Numbers

October 29, 2023 2 Comments

By Denise Carbondise

Finger hovers, hesitates, afraid to click. Reread for the twenty-seventh time. What’s the worst that could happen?

Post.

Fifty-two minutes later, delete ad.

Sift through thirty-eight replies. Most vague or missing the point entirely. Three that make sense, with proper grammar and punctuation. A bonus.

One stands out. Mentions references. Refreshing humor.

Reply? Fingers dust the tops of keys until words flow. Reread nine times. Witty and sincere. What’s the worst that could happen?

Send.

Four minutes, a subsequent alert. Dozens of exchanges. Hundreds of words. A decision.

“Let’s meet.”

“Just to see.”

Thousands of butterflies.

Can we defy the odds?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dan says

    November 1, 2023 at 4:47 pm

    Very nice. Good job capturing the emotions–hope, trepidation. (Hope it works out!)

    Reply
  2. Pamela Cartlidge says

    November 2, 2023 at 2:40 pm

    Good insight into human nature.

    Reply

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