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101 Words

101 Word Short Stories

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Waiving

January 6, 2024 11 Comments

By K F Lerner

I had a cat once. Fluffy. My mother bought him after Dad left, even though she’d already told me twenty times she didn’t want an animal in the house.

Fluffy loved to explore the neighborhood. The old lady next door loved to feed him.

Bertha’s hearing was poor. Maybe she never heard me calling out the back door for Fluffy to come home.

Mom sat me down to explain that Bertha was lonely. “Maybe we should just let her keep him.”

What she didn’t have to say by then was that it wasn’t up to us. You can’t make someone stay.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jan says

    January 6, 2024 at 8:51 am

    I loved this. So much conveyed in so few words.

    Reply
  2. Cathryn says

    January 6, 2024 at 12:35 pm

    Hello,
    Well done. A great throughline; following the motif to an effective conclusion.

    Reply
  3. Joanne says

    January 8, 2024 at 7:42 pm

    Those last 2 sentences were FIRE!

    Reply
    • RC says

      January 10, 2024 at 10:20 am

      I agree! I love how the last line or two can essentially make the story.

      Reply
  4. Jessie Jones says

    January 9, 2024 at 5:54 pm

    super story. sparks my memory. thank you for this 101 words.

    Reply
  5. Paulene says

    January 10, 2024 at 7:52 am

    So true.

    Reply
  6. Liz Gauffreau says

    January 10, 2024 at 9:20 am

    Well done!!

    Reply
  7. Ekta Garg says

    January 10, 2024 at 10:26 pm

    What an amazing example of a little story that packs a huge punch — well done!

    Reply
  8. Pamela Cartlidge says

    January 11, 2024 at 6:17 am

    Typical cats! Great story.

    Reply
  9. Nerissa says

    January 13, 2024 at 10:01 am

    Love this, Karen! In only 100 words, you managed to break my heart. And beautiful way of showing what happens rather than telling us.

    Reply
  10. Jane B Hirschhorn says

    January 18, 2024 at 1:42 pm

    powerful. Love the writing and the twist at the end.

    Reply

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