Understanding

Short, Short Story

Laura's eyes are shining.

She laughs softly.

“I read somewhere that laughter is close to crying”

“Yeah?”

“Like now,” she wipes her eyes with the back of her hand, “crying with laughter”.

She pauses to blow her nose before continuing.

“Stupid memories...” Laura trails off as she tries and fails to throw her scrunched up tissues into a bin on the far side of the room.  “It was funny though wasn’t it?”

There’s another pause in the conversation until she looks up prompting a reply.

“Yeah, it was funny, the way your mum was looking around. She was so confused”.

Laura's laugh returns.

“She asked me who I was talking to and I said, ‘There’s only the three of us in here… me, myself and I.’”

“Then she asked you which one you were talking to…”

“I was talking to myself.”

“You really should try to kick that habit.”

Laura's grin broadens as she turns to the emptiness beside her.

“You know I can’t. You’re the only one that understands.”

Author's Note

I appreciate ANY feedback. Thanks! :)

Reviews

[Kristan A. Mohammed]

This is so wonderful. I truly believe that a person's best friend and the most confidential confidant is your own self. I like the way you began the story by misleading the reader into thinking that there was actually someone else in the room. The fact that she was able to laugh so much and make it appear to be so real is just proof of how real and true her internal friend was to her. You really accomplished a lot in just a few lines. I really enjoyed reading this. Great job. Stay inspired.

[Zugzwang]

For a short, short story, you manage to do a lot with a little, this piece has a trajectory and a twist in the end without it seeming contrived. Great stuff!
z.

[Warrior]

Great story telling. This did justice in the realm of getting the message across. Great message. There's lot of times where a story can have a great message to aim for, and have a lot of under lining things but then no one gets it, and if no one gets it, then the point has failed. But in my opinion this did well to get the message across. You made it clear, which is why I think it's good. Keep up the good work. What was also great was that I could imagine the story as I read it, and that is also a strong point of stories. The ability to have the reader imagine it because after all we're reading not watching it, but it was as if I was there as I read this, and that is great. Good job once again.

[James B Wells]

Wow, really good payoff! You did a nice job of revealing the twist without blatantly stating it. It's best when the reader makes the revelation themself, and that is exactly what your writing allowed. My only complaint would be that I think the dialogue could be more interesting (besides parts like the 'I talk to myself' line which was good wordplay). I personally think the length is perfect. Myself (ha), I felt frustration at not knowing who the speaker was, and I think you can only string along the audience for so long until you have to make the reveal. I could be wrong, though. It'd be interesting to experiment with. Nice work.

[Dreadblocks]

Pretty tight, hard-hitting compact package. The dialogue set up the twist very well and, once it sank in, painted an alarming and almost heart-breaking illustration of someone struggling with either loneliness or mental dysfunction, or perhaps a combination of the two. Probably one of the more intriguing and thought-provoking pieces of flash fiction that I've read.

[Matching Socks]

Ha! Very nice. Perfect ending.

[Shannon]

I like a story with some ambiguity. And I really enjoy that you can paint a whole picture with such precision.

[Sir Drift & Mr. Pulse]

Oh! What!? what!? I so was not expecting that, bravo my frend, bravo! Laura is my girlfriend's name, I am so showing this to her! hey man again, bravo. you really got me.

[Troy Henson]

Loved this. A twist in this to think the piece is portraying another however it was the inner voice....our only true critic in life. Nicely done.

[mattavelli]

I think its great. First, your writing is crystal clear. Second, I like the story. thanks for sharing it. :)

[Riddhi]

Nice poem.Indeed someone's best friend is the person itself.But actually i don't believe the fact myself...