28 Comments

The way you told this story feels as if it were eerily real. Good work, mister.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, John! I appreciate you reading.

Expand full comment
Apr 29Liked by Justin Deming

Wow that was quite a story!! The way you write amazes me !!

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, Mom! 💜

Expand full comment
May 5Liked by Justin Deming

💜🔥

Expand full comment
author

🙏😊

Expand full comment

First story I've had time to read in a while and oh my goodness did it deliver. I was simply riveted, Justin!

Expand full comment
author

Aww, thanks, Claire! It’s great to hear from you. I hope all is well! 😊

Expand full comment
Apr 30Liked by Justin Deming

Great writing Justin. I like the way you keep the soundtrack threading-through the piece. So many of our youthful memories, good or bad, are associated with the songs of the era.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you so much, Jim! I’m glad you liked the story and that particular element. Couldn’t agree more with you. Many songs take me back to a specific time and place in an instant!

Expand full comment

Great story, thanks.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks for reading, Colin!

Expand full comment

Perfection.

Expand full comment
author

That’s incredibly kind of you to say. Thank you, Marilee!

Expand full comment

Great story! Hooked me at the beginning and I enjoyed the ride. Glad it was fiction but it sure enough seemed real. Love it!

Expand full comment
author

Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts, GeorgeAnn! I’m happy you loved the story. 🙏

Expand full comment
Apr 29Liked by Justin Deming

Wow! What a story, Justin. It sounded like such a true account, and yet it unfolded itself to you AS you were writing it. ( I love it when I discover a story in my head without even planning it.) This is a great line: "We’re still close, still great friends, but sometimes when he looks at me there’s a fire there, a moment that burns through me..." Those boys shared something traumatic and life-changing for each one.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you for your kind words and thoughtful comments, Sharron. Isn’t it such a wonderfully strange feeling to have a story unravel like that?

Agreed. Their lives were forever altered by that experience.

Expand full comment

You are on mighty form, Justin. Sucks you right in, this one! Brilliant writing.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you so much for the kind and encouraging words, Barrie! 🙏

Expand full comment
Apr 29Liked by Justin Deming

Wow - excellent work here Justin.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you so much, my friend! 🙏

Expand full comment
Apr 29Liked by Justin Deming

So real. Reminds me how many things from childhood still have a hold on today. Great read.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Marc! I appreciate you! Absolutely. Those experiences have a profound impact on us.

Expand full comment

This story warns you from the start how things can all change in an instant — and makes you wonder, could it have been any other way? Justin, I suppose I’ll forgive you for starting my day with some heartache.

Expand full comment
author

I really appreciate you reading my story, Stephanie. And thanks for your forgiveness. 🙂 I’m sure we can all pinpoint a few pivotal memories (perhaps not quite as traumatic as this one) and ask ourselves the same question you posed above!

Expand full comment

Yes, exactly! I really a story that asks that question.

Expand full comment

*really like

Expand full comment