Sunday Short: The Lists by Ryan O'Neill

No. 902: How not to get up in the morning
1. Wake.
2. Keep your eyes closed.
3. Turn your head to the left.
4. Say a prayer.
5. Open your eyes.
6. Stare at the empty space on the bed next to you.
7. Accept that she is still gone.
8. Close your eyes.
9. Sleep.
10. Go back to step 1.

I go on and off experimental fiction. I mean, the good stuff is so great, but the bad stuff is so bad, often clunky and lacking in both character arcs and meaning. That's not so with Ryan O'Neill's The List, a story told, as the title implies, through lists. This is a beautiful piece of writing. A totally simple concept executed sublimely and, not even going to lie, it may have been raining on my face a bit by the end there.

You can read 'The List' over on The Monthly's website.