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Fran Tabor's avatar

A lesser writer would have had the cashier marry.

A much lesser writer would have had the man's singing evoke ancestral memories of troubadours traveling town to town, mesmerizing loved lorn damsels with his voice.

Instead Anna V. Jones holds true to her first description: someone beautiful as ordinary people are beautiful. We ordinaries don't sing heart-stoppingly-gloriously, but --- when no one is watching --- we do sing with honest emotion.

Returning the guitar was an act of love as powerful as the emotion that inspired the song. It told him someone wanted his song to continue. It stopped a suicide of the soul.

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CM's avatar

So emotional and bittersweet! It reminds me of the conflicted feelings that come with the end of high school (or any chapter in one's life). I loved the banter between the friend group and it was so heartbreaking, yet emotionally satisfying, to see how they grew apart with time. Great read, and I hope to see more of your work in the future!

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