47 Comments
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erniet's avatar

Very Ray Bradbury...and that's meant as a compliment...!

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Scoot's avatar

You have no idea how high that praise is to me! Thank you!!

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Chantal LaFortune's avatar

The ending got me choked up. Well done!

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Scoot's avatar

Thats what I like to hear! 😂 Thank you!

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Chantal LaFortune's avatar

Spoken like a true Anne Shirley-esque writer--always hoping to make readers cry!

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Michael S. Atkinson's avatar

You weren't the only one.

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Thérèse Judeana's avatar

Same!

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Cole Noble's avatar

This is one of the best short stories I’ve ever read, full stop.

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Scoot's avatar

Wow, Cole. Wow. Thank you so much.

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Leslie A. Mills's avatar

Phenomenal!

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Scoot's avatar

Thank you so much!

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Iris Shaw's avatar

Oi, watch it, that's my heart you just stomped on...

But seriously, lovely story, great momentum all the way to the end.

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Scoot's avatar

Really happy you enjoyed it, thank you very much for reading!

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Jeff Kinnard's avatar

This was actually too good. To say I was choked up at the end would be an understatement. Pure magic, Scoot. Well done 👏

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Scoot's avatar

My work here is done 😎 thank you Jeff, it really means a lot!

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Berkana's avatar

What intensity moment of life within all those words

Remind me many moments of my motherhood experience

The power of life itself . Muito bonito e as imagens são lindas e fortes

Thank you

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Scoot's avatar

I am so happy you enjoyed! I am glad to hear there’s something for everyone in this one 🙏

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Michael S. Atkinson's avatar

Right in the feels, Scoot. Right in the feels. This was one of the best things I've read in a long time. This was worthy of Arthur C. Clarke even. Well done.

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Scoot's avatar

😭 Clarke and Bradbury comparisons in comments for the same story! You gotta be careful man, im gonna get an ego. Thank you--I am really happy this resonated! Thank you for reading!

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Michael S. Atkinson's avatar

It really did, man. Maybe it's because we've used the "I can do hard things" in our home ourselves, maybe it was the stuffy, maybe it's just because it was that good, or all of it together; it really did resonate.

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Derek Petty's avatar

Simply amazing. Wow my friend. That is truly an incredible story. I definitely teared up and that does not happen often. Read it now people!

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Scoot's avatar

Thank you, man. I really appreciate that you enjoyed it and thank you so much for sharing it!

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The Chronicler's avatar

Wow. This is such a tenderly written story. I know you said this was a doozy, but the read went by so quickly for me. I don’t know how you managed to build this world up with such detail in such a short amount of time. Just so perfect

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Scoot's avatar

Its been living in my head for a long time--it finally had matured enough that it spilled out the right way. Thank you so much for reading 🙏 it means a lot!

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Bridget Riley's avatar

Aaaaaand now I’m crying into the pasta pot that I was stirring as I read this.

So intense, so sad, so lovely.

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Scoot's avatar

Your pasta has been blessed with a little extra salt! Thank you for reading Bridget! 🙏

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Sara Dietz's avatar

This is too real

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Walther Cantu's avatar

I was reading this during the boys BJJ class and that was probably a mistake on my part. This is a lovely story, well done.

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Scoot's avatar

I hope you brought an onion in your pocket and started cutting it so you had an excuse 😂 thank you so much Walther!

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Skeptic Fail's avatar

Gotta try to regain some composure to write this comment. What a masterpiece on so many levels--love, sacrifice, death, but i can't express all those levels because i can't think through tears.

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Scoot's avatar

🙏🙏🙏 i am really happy you enjoyed the story. Thank you so much!

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Sara Dietz's avatar

Gosh dangit scoot you hit me right in the feels, brother. This was such a good and hard read.

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Scoot's avatar

🙏🙏🙏 i hope your pasta has been blessed also. Sorry not sorry. Thank you for reading Sara!!

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Marc Typo's avatar

I don't really read a lot of fiction on Substack, but after seeing this come up multiple times, I am not disappointed. This was gooood. Ironically, it's about a father and son.

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Mark Starlin's avatar

Excellent story. Bravo.

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