Jaycee Woods

Recently, Scott Holleran had a Christmas short story published in Jaded Ibis Press. Possibly it is a personal account and not fiction. His “Do You Need What I Need?” can be read at their site.

During the Christmas season, two passing acquaintances see each other again after not having seen each other in a long time. They aren’t friends and didn’t even know each other’s name, but it was simply one of those recognizing someone who is around your life kind-of-things.

In this story, the woman did something unusual; she purposefully went out of her way to say something important, not big but only important, something that only she could say as she was sharing her own experience.

I liked how this short story addressed an aspect of the holiday that isn’t often highlighted, loneliness and isolation after loss. Yet, it did so in a hopeful way about engaging in community and allowing oneself to be vulnerable by saying something true to essentially a stranger. Both received a gift of visibility even if in a small but personally meaningful way.

The holiday time setting reminded me of the Christmas tree in Terrence Popp’s “Purple Heart’s Final Beat” video, but in contrast Holleran’s story is simple and hopeful by showcasing the impact of a small act of authenticity within a personally bleak time.

I recommend enjoying Holleran’s very short Christmas story.