On "Friend of the Sick" by Nic Brown (3501 words) ***

Nic Brown's story tells a story about the sick in a different way. It's not an overly sentimental piece about how great this sick person is or was, how much we'll miss the person. It's about how, although this is our best friend, we continue on, concerned, but also somewhat hoping for the death--and for almost entirely selfish reasons. But our narrator isn't some misanthrope. She's just a regular person like you and me, with a set of emotions that are confused and all over the place, and life goes on, and the sick get sicker and sicker. Read all about it here at Slush Pile.