Literally Reruns – The Bracelet by David Henson

Leila has gone back quite a way with this one and singled out a long time friend of the site. David Henson has stuck with us for a long time and it’s great to see his work getting another moment in the sun. This is what she said:

Every so often I come across a perfect little story that hasn’t visible bolts or nails or zippers or buttons or anything else holding it together except itself. Such is the case with Mr. Henson’s first LS presentation The Bracelet. It is elemental in the sense that it cannot be expanded on without giving away the whole thing, yet at the same time it isn’t to be considered homogenous because there is a great yet natural shift in perspective at the end.  Anyway, it’s the sort of thing you read and feel obliged to throw fancy adjectives at, and it is also the sort of thing that causes envy because you didn’t think of it first.

Q: I completely swallowed the time travel concept. Although it’s short, how did you go about selecting the MC’s various “events”? (I found the inclusion of the failed romance at the front quite inspired.)

Q: I think it’s great, but how do you feel about the story now that some time has gone by?

Leila Allison

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David’s responses:

Q: I completely swallowed the time travel concept. Although it’s short, how did you go about selecting the MC’s various “events”? (I found the inclusion of the failed romance at the front quite inspired.)

Nothing too complicated. I wanted to use events that most people could relate to or anticipate potentially happening in their future. Then it was a matter of selecting those events which would represent an appropriate time jump. And at the end I couldn’t resist referencing my pet peeve about people who refer to seniors as “sweetie” or “honey.”

Q: I think it’s great, but how do you feel about the story now that some time has gone by?

I still feel good about it. It was the first or second story I had accepted when I began writing fiction after my retirement. (In fact, I had this story and another at a different journal accepted the same day and thought getting published was going to be a piece of cake. Wrong.) I had long felt that the older I got, the faster time seemed to pass. That was my motivation for writing the story. And since that story, time, unfortunately, is passing even more quickly. 

The Bracelet