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101 Word Short Stories

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The Vastness in Between

November 23, 2024 3 Comments

By Gary McElroy

“What awes you?” she asks, dreamily staring at the ceiling. “For me, it’s the miracle I’m here, feeling the warmth of the sun, the magnificence of the ocean, the love of others.”

“The vastness of the known universe,” he responds, half asleep.

She sighs, tugs at the covers. “We’re so different.”

She turns on her side, bare back to him, adds wistfully:

“I’m that grain of sand on the beach that soaks in the sunlight, hears the symphony of the surf. You’re that speck that looks about and only thinks: ‘hell of a lot of grains of sand on this beach’.”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary Anne Gorman says

    November 23, 2024 at 7:28 am

    I love the opening words and the shutting down of them only to arise again with hears the symphony of the surf. Brilliant

    Reply
    • Raghunathan Kuppuswamy says

      November 27, 2024 at 6:42 am

      diff perspectives!!! ‘thinks’ wld be less judgmental than ‘only thinks’

      Reply
    • Gary McElroy says

      November 27, 2024 at 3:21 pm

      Thank you. I wanted to not lose how light years apart they are in this instance.

      Reply

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