Win Cash Prizes & Get Professional Feedback @ Flash Fiction Magazine
Learn More
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

101 Words

101 Word Short Stories

  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Volunteer

Perfection

September 12, 2020 4 Comments

By Jacky Lang

She stood under the harsh bathroom light wondering about the damage. This was going to be harder to explain than demanding to talk to the slow delivery driver’s manager, or throwing out the barely burnt cookies.

Nothing was ever good enough. She was never good enough. Why couldn’t anyone else see that? Even an expensive haircut couldn’t hide her flaws and imperfections.

“I’ll just trim this bit the hairdresser missed.”

One hour later and she was probably mostly bald at this point. It was hard to tell in the smashed mirror. She started washing the blood and hair down the drain.

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

The Power of Imagery with Nina Schuyler

September 12 & 13 on Zoom
Enrollment closes Thursday, September 3 at 7:00 PM Pacific

If your descriptions are vivid but your stories still feel thin, this workshop is for you.

Join award-winning author Nina Schuyler to learn the difference between description, which tells a reader what things look like, and imagery, which carries plot, character, and meaning at the same time.

In just two days, you'll learn to choose images that hold emotion without naming it, pair them so each one deepens the other, and build patterns that gather meaning as the story moves.

Learn More and Enroll

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rathin Bhattacharjee says

    September 12, 2020 at 7:28 am

    I think the last line sums up the gist of the story well.
    ‘She started washing the blood and hair down the drain.’
    The last line drives home the message that perfection is illusory, something hard to achieve for mere mortals like us.
    A very well-crafted, thought-peovoking story that leaves us, readers, guessing about The Price of Perfection in the end.
    Thanks for the story.

    Reply
    • Jacky says

      September 12, 2020 at 1:23 pm

      Thanks for such a thoughtful comment, and for taking the time to read.

      Reply
  2. Coco says

    September 12, 2020 at 8:29 am

    Very sad. Perfectionism is indeed an affliction.

    Nicely done. I like the shattered mirror detail.

    Reply
    • Jacky says

      September 12, 2020 at 1:24 pm

      Thank you.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search Stories

The end.