Wow, I absolutely loved this! I just read it twice over to make sure I didn't miss anything. I love the growing sense of dread with every paragraph and I have so many questions. Why was the doctor so passive about Robert? Why were the townspeople so strange towards him.
The lines, "It had been decades since he allowed himself to cry, but he felt the urge so often these days. Not a sad cry either, a frustrated one. Like a child throwing a fit when he doesn't get his way," was a very apt description for the whole of Robert's experiece, I think. It felt like the whole town was in on it besides Robert. Pitying him, maybe talking of his looming fate behind his back. Maybe his brother knew, maybe his mother did. Who knows?
The pacing and the build up were perfect and it all paid off at the end, even though we are still left with more questions than answers. Which I think is the beauty of a lot short stories, we get to pull back the curtain on a new world, but only for a moment, only for a few pages, and then we have to return to ours with new things to wonder about.
At the end, the light reminded me of an angler fish, luring Robert in. But his malladies immediately made me think of black mold in the house when you linked the symptoms to the structure. Who's to say what it was in the end (besides yourself, of course) What is clear above all else is that Robert is a very lonely man, which calls into question, of course, the credibility of his narrative. Maybe nothing is real and it's all psychosomatic. But even more terrifyingly, what if it all /is/ real?
Sorry this was a bit rambly, all in all, 10/10! I adored reading this and I will be endlessly curious about Robert's fate.
i loved this!! especially the small ways that he’s seeking consolation and sympathy from those around him - like his doctor or the florist - when battling grief. and the death of his mother and brother undercuts the story but isn’t really emphasized, i think that’s the way the character is facing his loss too. his physical ailments are a manifestation of his pain and loneliness, because it’s a lot easier to ask for help when we can point to a body part than for inner struggles. the story is really lovely !!
Wow, I absolutely loved this! I just read it twice over to make sure I didn't miss anything. I love the growing sense of dread with every paragraph and I have so many questions. Why was the doctor so passive about Robert? Why were the townspeople so strange towards him.
The lines, "It had been decades since he allowed himself to cry, but he felt the urge so often these days. Not a sad cry either, a frustrated one. Like a child throwing a fit when he doesn't get his way," was a very apt description for the whole of Robert's experiece, I think. It felt like the whole town was in on it besides Robert. Pitying him, maybe talking of his looming fate behind his back. Maybe his brother knew, maybe his mother did. Who knows?
The pacing and the build up were perfect and it all paid off at the end, even though we are still left with more questions than answers. Which I think is the beauty of a lot short stories, we get to pull back the curtain on a new world, but only for a moment, only for a few pages, and then we have to return to ours with new things to wonder about.
At the end, the light reminded me of an angler fish, luring Robert in. But his malladies immediately made me think of black mold in the house when you linked the symptoms to the structure. Who's to say what it was in the end (besides yourself, of course) What is clear above all else is that Robert is a very lonely man, which calls into question, of course, the credibility of his narrative. Maybe nothing is real and it's all psychosomatic. But even more terrifyingly, what if it all /is/ real?
Sorry this was a bit rambly, all in all, 10/10! I adored reading this and I will be endlessly curious about Robert's fate.
Can't wait to see what you do next!
This is such a thoughtful comment WOW! Thank you so much for your attention and care with this piece ❤️❤️❤️ makes my heart so full!!
i loved this!! especially the small ways that he’s seeking consolation and sympathy from those around him - like his doctor or the florist - when battling grief. and the death of his mother and brother undercuts the story but isn’t really emphasized, i think that’s the way the character is facing his loss too. his physical ailments are a manifestation of his pain and loneliness, because it’s a lot easier to ask for help when we can point to a body part than for inner struggles. the story is really lovely !!
thank you so much for reading!!! loved this interpretation too, totally what I was going for in the story :)