Inspired by an article in The New York Times Modern Love’s “Tiny Love Stories,” in addition to the low motivation I have to write between my job and incoming seasonal depression, I have decided to do a weekly (maybe biweekly) super short story that I hope makes readers smile.
Each story will be fiction or based on little observances from my life and less than 100 words, a restraint I think will be beneficial for my tendency to overwrite, and (hopefully) inflict a smile!
Here’s the first one:
Every morning when I walk to work, I pass Caruso Flowers. Most days, there is a man sitting in the door with a smile on his face, offering a fist bump of encouragement to passing strangers. I usually offer a wave and an uncontrollable smile—something that rarely happens before 9am. I think it’s amazing how someone I may never formally meet can spark joy in my life. The way he sits slightly slumped yet steady reminds me of my grandfather, a man who looked strong even when he was weak, a man who would smile at the sight of one of his grandchildren.
Julia DeLuca 