Short Story: Five Things of Beauty
When his wife leaves him, Srilal finds a succession of odd little gifts on his doorstep. But can they make him see where he has gone wrong?
Extract
The morning after Vaidwattie left, Srilal found the first thing of beauty. It was lying on the damp pavement outside his house, where a thousand boots trod every day. The first thing of beauty was an origami bird so delicate and fine that when Srilal lifted it on the palm of his hand, he thought it might fly away. He placed it on his mantelpiece, above the dead television, next to their wedding photo, and he cried.
Once, Vaidwattie had told him, "I can make you anything with twelve folds of paper." He hadn't believed her. "Prove it," he had said, but she had just shaken her head and been hurt.
From Five Things of Beauty. Continue reading story on Strange Horizons.
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Publication Details
First published in Strange Horizons, 9 June 2003.