'Gate Five'. Issue 1 (1st April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Freund, Nancy
• Is Part Of: Short fiction in theory and practice. Volume 12:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 99
• Publication Date: 2022-04-01
• Subjects: Short story -- Periodicals; 808.31
• DOI: 10.1386/fict_00052_7
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2043-0701

Abstract

The first full day of it, emergency room admittance to the bed he died in four days later, all I could think to say was, 'Dad, I'm here'. And then somehow, I was granted more. Something fuller, more creative, and infinitely better. This is what a writer hopes for. A daughter. A human being. A fragile baby soul emerging, in utero, as it were. We wish for the words and humility to say them ‐ voiced or penned ‐ and the miraculous understanding that their expression is received. Their intention is fulfilled, at least to some extent, and that pain's at bay, even if only for a moment.