On "It's Not Becoming" by Nathan Leslie (2920 words) ***

I read too many articles about improving one's self to find a significant other. At this point in my life, I really don't know what to do. Being myself doesn't work, and being something else doesn't seem to either. I question where I went wrong each time a relationship doesn't come to be. Did I try too hard? Did I not try hard enough?

And this is what Nathan Leslie's story is about, but to the upteenth degree--the absurd degree--which is what many a short story does: take a situation and take it to the limits. Here the narrator is a woman with a boyfriend who sets out to improve her. Another article comes to mind, on how to date a fixer-upper. Of course, in that article, the key is to recognize the potential in someone. And the potential is certainly here. Or is it? Read the story here at Dark Sky Magazine.