This is a short story (OK – not technically a ‘short story’ – but whatever) – the first piece of fiction that I have ever written (except for that one Christmas when I wrote something for the kids).
I have been reading some Brené Brown recently – about shame, vulnerability, etc. – and realized the only reason I hesitate to share this with others is for reasons that shouldn’t matter.
So – here you go. Feel free to read. Or not.
Honestly, it’s totally up to you. Enjoy it or don’t. You can like it or think it completely sucks, but I’m actually putting it out here for you, for anyone, to read.
Please NOTE: I couldn’t help but use some people I know as they are just too interesting to leave out of my fictitious version of reality. While I attempted to portray places etc as accurately as possible, any characters which bear resemblance to real people, are actually an extreme exaggeration of them. So – if you see yourself or someone you know… uh – ‘sorry’ I guess.
For convenience sake, there are links below to each section/chapter. The whole thing is apparently the equivalent of a 39-page paperback, just so you know what you’re getting yourself into.
ONE – BIENVENUE AU BURUNDI
The first thing Dr. Seth Queller saw out his window as the plane rattled down the runway was the rusting, worn-out shell of an airplane. It sat by itself, between…
TWO – I DON’T LIKE THIS
For a significant portion of his 32-hour trip he considered one simple question to which he still had no satisfactory answer: “What in the world am I doing here?” It…
THREE – THIS IS NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR
Dr. Seth Queller was there to perform cleft-pallet surgeries at the clinic attached to the university. His dean claimed Seth’s French-language skills and his medical specialty would make it fairly…
FOUR – DR. TOM
Dr. Seth Queller was there to perform cleft-pallet surgeries at the clinic attached to the university. His dean claimed Seth’s French-language skills and his medical specialty would make it fairly…
FIVE – THERE’S BEEN AN ACCIDENT
As a kid, Seth loved watching MASH off a well-worn boxed set of VHS tapes. As soon as he got home from school, he’d head straight to that built-in shelf…
SIX – MAYBE I NEED TO WHAT?!
“Maybe what you need to do is try to care a bit less about yourself, and a bit more about others.” Really? That was his advice? Just over 24 hours…
SEVEN – NO HITLER
“What are you going to do next?” These words echoed in his mind as he sat on the shockingly heavy eucalyptus-wood chair in his room. He wrestled with this question…
EIGHT – COUNT YOUR LOSSES
There was one massive question he couldn’t stop from rolling over and over in his head. “What might I lose?” Besides the obvious. The reality that he had lived a…
NINE – BUT WHY?
There was one massive question he couldn’t stop from rolling over and over in his head. “What might I lose?” Besides the obvious. The reality that he had lived a…
TEN – TUZOSUBIRA
Finally, he headed back to the half-domed structures of the airport. While it seemed like he had just arrived, in ways much deeper and more personal, it felt like he…