"A History of Eternity"

Published in Page and Spine

Waiting to receive word on whether a literary magazine has accepted a short story always feels like an eternity to me; something so far off that it is just easier to stop thinking about it, or to forget I even sent it, than to keep dwelling on the delays, the consistency of the rejection notices, and so forth. But the satisfaction of having a piece published brings everything back to the present moment. I had honestly forgotten about having sent this little story out. It was 3 months and over a hundred days ago, and so many have gone out (and come back refused!) since then. It was even written so long ago, one of my earliest attempts at the short story, that I almost sent it out on a whim, hardly believing it would be “the one,” but that’s the beauty of writing and art. Tchaikovsky hated “The Nutcracker.” William Faulkner forgot he even wrote Absalom, Absalom! How we view our art and how others view them may be completely different, and there’s no telling in advance what art of ours God wants to share when. So how ironic (in a positive way, not a Guy de Maupassant–read “The Piece of String”–way) that this would be accepted now! Never take for granted one of your artistic children. Take them out of the drawer, look them over, and take a chance on them. They might surprise you. Take a read over at Page & Spine at my little “History of Eternity”: https://www.pagespineficshowcase.com/alexander-xavier-urpi.html