Gaye handed out paper and pens. A few people groaned but tradition is tradition and this had been a family ritual ever since anyone could remember. She fetched the Box of Broken Promises and began to read last year’s resolutions. The prize was a book token.
“Lose weight, Roger?”
Roger blushed and wrote it again.
“Congratulations to Martine who has given up smoking.”
A ripple of applause.
Gaye blenched and crumpled the paper in her hand.
“What’s wrong?” asked Roger.
The signature read Paula, but the sheet was blank.
It was the closest thing they had to a suicide note.
Oonah Joslin lives in North East England and writes mostly poetry and flash fiction.
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31 Responses to “RESOLUTION • by Oonah V Joslin”
Comments
« January’s Table of Contents | Home | THE ANNIVERSARY • by Lyndon Perry »
December 31st, 2007 at 2:00 am
Terrific, Oonah. You establish the light mood masterfully, leading us nose-first into that slam-dunk of an ending. Great great flash.
December 31st, 2007 at 4:12 am
I love this story, it says everything it needs to say in so few words, and is so powerful. Wonderful, Oonah.
December 31st, 2007 at 4:30 am
Great read and terrific writing.
December 31st, 2007 at 5:51 am
Great flash, Oonah.
December 31st, 2007 at 6:19 am
*shiver*
Excellent.
December 31st, 2007 at 6:33 am
Oh my. That was fantastic.
December 31st, 2007 at 6:48 am
Why, Thank you, Anonymous one! And thank you to all you others too and A Happy New Year to all the editors and readers. Don’t be too hard on your relatives.
Mine? To lose weight - again!!!
December 31st, 2007 at 8:04 am
My resolution is…
Great story, Oonah.
December 31st, 2007 at 8:23 am
Brilliant, Oonah.
How do you do this so consistently?
December 31st, 2007 at 9:11 am
Thank you dj.
And Jumbo
December 31st, 2007 at 10:23 am
Oonah,
what a great chill factor this has. The shock of the final sentence is like being doused with iced water.
Cheers
Mark
December 31st, 2007 at 11:11 am
Well done. Very nicely done. Everything seems so casual until that last line then the story is drawn tight.
December 31st, 2007 at 11:40 am
Oof! Beautiful, Oonah. That last line is like a punch in the gut.
December 31st, 2007 at 11:59 am
I think I would’ve committed suicde, too, if I had to go through that tradition every year. :-0
Great story.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:08 pm
The first time I read this, I knew it had to be our New Year’s Eve story. Very fine flash indeed.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Thanks to Mark for plunging into the iced waters
Guy, very generous comment. Thanks
Hey Nathan from over in Micro Horror, Thank you for stopping by, Man! Everybody, give his mag a shufty.
Rena - families - can’t live without’em…….
Camille, Wonderful responce to this one.
Merci et Bonne Annee a tous x
Oonah
January 1st, 2008 at 3:23 am
Great story - powerful ending.
January 1st, 2008 at 4:14 am
Hey, Avis! Thanks.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:59 am
Very, very good.
January 1st, 2008 at 9:19 am
Wonderful, Oonah. You got me. And in so few words.
That ending was key.
Happy New Year!
~Heidi
January 1st, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Thank you Stuart and Heidi and a Happy New Year to you both
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
I’ve stopped reading these every day because what’s been posted lately hasn’t really appealed to me.
I’m glad I decided to skim back through the ones I’ve recently missed, though. This one was was worth it. Thanks!
January 4th, 2008 at 5:06 am
Dear KJ, That is such a compliment. Thank you
I am glad you enjoyed my story. I hope you will keep reading. I have plenty of others in the pipeline here on EDF and you can check out my web site for more.
Very pleased to hear from you.
Oonah
January 8th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Brilliantly written. This is a fine little masterpiece, Oonah. Powerful, gripping. The ending hits you like a truck. One of the finest short shorts I’ve ever read.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Thank you so much, Barry. That is praise indeed and I am vastly pleased. I am quite stunned by the response this story has attracted.
Oonah
January 19th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
[...] Resolution Posted on November 30, 2007 in Table of Contents Did you like this story?A new and interesting story is posted every day. [...]
February 15th, 2008 at 12:01 am
[...] noted with great pleasure that January’s most-read story was “Resolution“, by Oonah V Joslin. The story was published on December 31st, but was well-read throughout [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 1:30 am
I’m here late in the day, but as usual, a great flash, Oonah,
Jennifer
March 19th, 2008 at 5:07 am
Thanks Jennifer. Glad you liked it.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:36 am
Wow!
May 17th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Thank you Renee!