After looking through a few selections of flash fiction I came across a piece called "Last Rights". This piece really hit a spot when I read it, and I felt that it would be a great piece to reflect on. This piece of flash fiction basically tells us a story of a young woman who is dealing with the prospect of losing her father to cancer. Her father is terminally ill and has received news that the cancer has spread to his brain, which means that his memories are starting to fade.
As the story progresses it seems as if the father wasn't there for his daughter throughout his life and this is a very sad thing for a young girl to have to go through. In the climax of this short story the girl says "I never did know what to say to you", and this comes across as her having a somewhat awkward experience with her father throughout her youth. Her father replies to this statement she makes by saying "don't be scared"and reached out to embrace her. The girl then says "good-bye" and the father replies with "don't say good-bye". This comes across as him regretting the decisions he may have made in his life, it shows that in his darkest hour he is full of sorrow. The girl then says "I brushed his greying hair from his eyes and for the first and last time in my life, I whispered I love you dad."This line is probably one of the most effective concluding lines I have ever read in my life and it really hits close to the heart to know that this girl didn't get to experience a loving relationship with her father. The setting is also effectively used in this short story, it is set in a hospital which represents sadness and sorrow.
The underlying moral to this story is that this life truly is to short to live with regrets, the decisions that we make each and every day shape the outcome of our lives. We need to treat those closest to us with the upmost respect that they deserve because its not only our own lives we are hurting but we are hurting those around us too.
This is the link to my selection:http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/14854-last-rights
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