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Perfection

May 11, 2024 11 Comments

By Sara Szatmary

I found an existential encyclopedia at Goodwill. It indexed explanations of life’s mysteries in alphabetical order. I opened it to the Ps.

“Perfection: Nothing is perfect. Not forever, anyway.

“A person can have the perfect kiss, the perfect meal, or even the perfect year. But inevitably, their second date ends in a peck, the bread for their next sandwich has mold, and when the calendar resets, they’ll get cancer.

“Therefore, nothing perfect lasts. It’s not meant to. It’s perfection’s absence that makes humans so keenly aware of its presence.”

It was a steal at $2.00. Sadly, I only had a buck.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dart humeston says

    May 11, 2024 at 7:57 am

    Terrific story!

    Reply
    • Sara Szatmary says

      May 11, 2024 at 11:28 am

      Thank you, Dart!

      Reply
  2. Ephra Behn says

    May 11, 2024 at 8:44 am

    Perfect little story!

    Reply
    • Sara Szatmary says

      May 11, 2024 at 11:28 am

      Thank you, Ephra!

      Reply
  3. Laura says

    May 11, 2024 at 1:41 pm

    So clever! Loved this.

    Reply
  4. Mary says

    May 11, 2024 at 5:39 pm

    Perfect last line!

    Reply
  5. Esteban says

    May 11, 2024 at 8:43 pm

    Beautiful story!

    Reply
  6. Dan Graves says

    May 15, 2024 at 9:32 am

    an imperfect wallet

    Reply
  7. Pat R. says

    May 15, 2024 at 10:18 am

    Very clever, love this story!

    Reply
  8. Bonnie says

    May 15, 2024 at 11:06 am

    Like a Zen koan in that the story made me think about defining by absence and absolutes. The maddening pursuits of delight and how quickly novelty fades. Great!

    Reply
  9. Sue says

    May 15, 2024 at 11:22 am

    Sara, this sums up life…perfectly!

    Reply

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