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101 Word Short Stories

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Friends to the End

November 21, 2022 11 Comments

By Alan Moskowitz

Carla surprised herself when she decided to go to Jack’s funeral. It had been twenty years since he’d dumped her for Ellen.

Ellen was there; tense, stone-faced, staring at the simple coffin. She was not surprised to see her former best friend. They considered each other, reliving that heartbreaking betrayal. Finally, Ellen said unemotionally, “So glad you came.”

As Jack was lowered into the dirt, Carla began to cry.

“I’m so sorry,” Ellen said, hugging Carla stiffly, adding, “But cheer up, it was the worst twenty years of my life.”

After a thoughtful moment, Carla asked, “Should we get a drink?”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kevin says

    November 21, 2022 at 7:23 am

    So much emotion in so few words. Kudos.

    Reply
  2. Jennifer Lai says

    November 21, 2022 at 8:30 am

    Ha! Love this piece. Great ending!

    Reply
  3. Patricia Stott-Prince says

    November 21, 2022 at 8:49 am

    well done.

    Reply
  4. Tom Baldwin says

    November 21, 2022 at 7:20 pm

    Loved it!

    Reply
  5. Meghashri Dalvi says

    November 21, 2022 at 9:16 pm

    Loved it!

    Reply
  6. April Jacobs says

    November 22, 2022 at 2:10 pm

    Great story in such few words!

    Reply
  7. Chetana Vaishnavi says

    November 23, 2022 at 9:51 am

    Carla’s tears of joy!
    Nice ending

    Reply
  8. DAVID HIGHAM says

    November 23, 2022 at 12:15 pm

    Love the World weariness of it

    Reply
  9. Jennifer J. says

    November 23, 2022 at 4:17 pm

    You packed a long story into few words. Excellent!

    Reply
  10. Kelly Louisa Balliu says

    November 27, 2022 at 9:08 am

    Such a touching conclusion and good that the two women were able to support each other, in an unexpected kind of way.

    Reply
  11. Liz says

    November 27, 2022 at 11:41 am

    So much told in so few words.

    Reply

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