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101 Word Short Stories

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Game, Set, Match

June 25, 2022 8 Comments

By Frank C. Modica

I’m playing ping-pong with my brother in our mother’s basement. He finesses a nasty spin; I slam the ball into the net. When I try to serve, I can’t get anything out of my hand. Mike beats the crap out of me every single game. I obsess over all the missed volleys and returns.

When I wake up, I tell my wife how I only dream about him on his birthday or on holidays, especially Christmas and Easter, when we’d gather at our childhood home for game after game.

Mike has been dead eight years. I wish I missed him more.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Yolanda Joosten says

    June 25, 2022 at 11:31 am

    Great story about grief.

    Reply
    • Frank C. Modica says

      June 29, 2022 at 12:10 pm

      Thank you, Yolanda!

      Reply
  2. Jim Anderson says

    June 29, 2022 at 8:21 am

    Oh, the last sentence! Gave me a shiver.

    Reply
    • Frank C. Modica says

      June 29, 2022 at 12:10 pm

      Thank you, Jim!

      Reply
  3. S. Webb says

    June 29, 2022 at 11:38 am

    So captures the human grief process. Thank you for writing this.

    Reply
    • Frank C. Modica says

      June 29, 2022 at 12:10 pm

      Thank you, S. Webb!

      Reply
  4. Liz Abraham says

    June 29, 2022 at 9:49 pm

    Sad…missing a person, but more, a deeper connection that can never be.

    Reply
    • Frank C. Modica says

      June 30, 2022 at 11:15 am

      Thank you, Liz. Grief is such a complex experience. Comes up unexpectantly and stays whether invited or uninvited. Frank

      Reply

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