Suffocating Short Stories | The Last Leaf

There is something suffocating about the short stories. Not all of them are like that. But some… are very suffocating. The thing with the short stories is that they never satisfy you. There is always something remaining for you to think. The endings can be so abrupt where you wanna linger a bit and proceed. But alas… Some short stories deprive you of such comfort. It will take you to a high climax and leave you all alone there. And that’s why it’s suffocating. You have to deal it with by yourself in an unexpected and unprepared moment.

This is such a short story that suffocated me when I least expected it. I was just sitting on my study table at one random boring night. I saw a sight of a short story that I took print outs of some months ago. It was something I was interested to read but had forgotten about its existence after printing them out. So I thought of reading it because it was only few pages in length. It’s a well known short story by O. Henry. “The Last Leaf” in name.

I’ll tell you about three characters that provoked my thoughts and suffocate me to overthink. There is a doctor who thought that a girl should have something “worth of being troubled about” like a “man” not “paint”, for her to have a will to live. Then there is Johnsy who thought that she would die when the last leaf on the tree falls. And finally there is 60 years old Behrman who believed that he would one day produce his masterpiece before he die. And he died from painting his masterpiece in one rainy night. Can you guess what his masterpiece was? It was the leaf that he drew on the tree to make Johnsy believe that the leaf is still intact on the tree, so she also has hope to live. And he gave his life for that masterprice…..

I was not okay after reading that ending. There was a lot to think……

Thanks for reading!

Have a nice day!