Four Small Stories

1.    A small boy witnesses the death of his father.
       A week later he goes into the father’s closet
       and picks out one of his ties. He struggles
       with the ends, unable to fasten the knot.
       [The boy is the brother in story #4.]

2.    A mother searches her son’s desk drawer.
       There is a small bag of heroin in the
       drawer but she doesn’t find it. It’s under
       a diary that she is afraid to open.
       [The mother is the wife in story #3.]

3.    A man stands on a street corner waiting.
       He’s going to ask his wife for a divorce.
       Just as she arrives, he notices a mirror in a
       store window but is unable to see himself.
       [The man is the father in story #1.]

4.    An old man seeks forgiveness from his brother.
       A fist fight he still sees on his brother’s face.
       They sit down across from each other in a diner booth.
       They talk until there is nothing more to say.
       [The old man is the son in story #2.]