On "Orchids" by Lydia Williams (1288 words) ***

I'm not sure why I find this story so subtly sad. There's a woman and her husband--a woman who works hard to become a better person, a husband who barely tries at all. And yet, the husband comes off seeming more capable. The woman, by contrast, keeps slipping into old routines, into, for example, a binge drinking habit. Perhaps what is so sad here is that the lack of moving forward--the story itself is light on plot--seems so akin to my achieving of goals. It seems more like one is given a standard personality and mode of behavior and no matter how hard one tries, the old ways inevitably prevail. We can never become the person we want to become. Is the fight worth it? Are the people who don't even bother better? Happier? Or are they even bigger losers? Not that this story is going to help answer those questions, but you can read it anyway, here at Apple Valley Review.