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101 Word Short Stories

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The Sign

May 2, 2024 6 Comments

By HC Edwards

He stood on the corner, holding his cardboard sign, bedraggled of body and, by the looks of it, mind. I stepped closer to read what he had scrawled.

“I yearn,” it said, the words mirroring the desperation I saw in the man’s despondent eyes.

I stood there for the longest time, attempting to complete the thought. Yearn for what? Food? Money? A better life? The old one back?

Who was he? Who had he been?

There was a secret there, but when I asked him, he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, tell me.

And then I got it.

“It’s okay. I yearn too.”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cathryn says

    May 2, 2024 at 9:53 am

    Hello HC,
    Beautiful parable-like message: every person yearns to have their humanity acknowledged.

    Reply
    • HC Edwards says

      May 8, 2024 at 11:17 am

      Thank you…everyone needs to be seen. I have other shorts if you’d like to read on my link.

      Reply
  2. Yolanda Joosten says

    May 2, 2024 at 11:40 am

    Beautiful story.

    Reply
    • HC Edwards says

      May 8, 2024 at 11:17 am

      Thank you

      Reply
  3. Sue says

    May 8, 2024 at 12:25 pm

    Thought provoking. Well done.

    Reply
    • HC Edwards says

      May 8, 2024 at 1:18 pm

      I appreciate it

      Reply

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