Pick a medium bag.
Don’t make it big, because your heart will be too heavy.
Don’t make it small, for you may be tempted to change your mind.
Fold everything. Gently pack it all.Take only what you need.
Remember, it’s the final goodbye.
Leave no room, except for regret.
***
Lovely post.
Thank you, Tulika 🙂
This is so sweet and gentle and yet like a small tiny push. Beautifully penned Shailaja.
Oh! The prose! How heartbreaking and beautiful. That line about regret – love it!
Thank you so much, Danielle! Coming from you, that’s such high praise. I am honoured 🙂
Thank you so much ?
I’m definitely not just saying that. This was such a beautifully constructed piece. I think it’s one of your best.
Shailaja this is so heartbreaking! The lines about packing the suitcase are the anchor here. Impeccable.
Thank you, Sara! So glad to hear that 🙂
Thank you, Rowan! I’ve always appreciated the depth of your feedback. Ah, the repetition of ‘because’ never struck me. I see how that would have worked as a nice rhythm to the piece. Now that I re-read the piece I get what you mean by the discordant note in the ‘goodbye’ sentence. Thank you, again, for the valuable advice.
Thank you, Laura 🙂 I’m glad the list format worked well.
Thank you, Patricia!
Always leave room for regret-that line will stick to me for a long time.Lovely post!
The prescriptive but gentle tone of this piece both sets the mood and fits the prompt really well. I would have loved to see you go ahead and really let the second and third lines mirror each other by using “because” in both of them, and the voice in the “final goodbye” sentence doesn’t seem to fit well in the rest of the post, but overall this is a really tender little post that lets the reader map their own experiences (and even their own gender) into the piece to fill it out.
I love the list format, and this line is so powerful: “Don’t make it big, because your heart will be too heavy.”
Beautiful flash fiction.
That reassurance is so necessary, right? I mean, the validation and justifying the decision when everything you feel may be the opposite perhaps? Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Thank you, Uma 🙂 Sometimes the story just comes together.
Love how this reads out as a recipe or instructions – shows how specifically we have to tell ourselves to do something when it’s a difficult choice. That indecision and uncertainty comes through.
Nice final line – like how it suggests regret is inevitable.
Loved how you connected the physical bag with the emotional baggage that’s tough to leave behind even when you physically move away. Lovely piece of writing!
I do read Dead Housekeeping and am in awe of their contributors! That’s high praise. Thank you! I shall try and pitch to them again. I did a year ago. Maybe it’s time I did again 🙂
I love how you phrased this as actual instructions. And that last line… Do you read Dead Housekeeping? They publish nonfiction, not fiction, but this has a definite flavor of their style.
That would be best, I know. Sometimes, we can’t control our emotions though. They have a mind of their own. Sigh.
Thank you, Darshana 🙂
I can well believe that, my lioness 🙂 Thank you, Soumya!
You’re not just saying that, right?Making you jealous is just not possible, Asha. Your words just flow 🙂
That is so beautiful, and heartbreaking. Regret finds room for itself sometimes even when we don’t keep it. Best is to bid goodbye to regret too.
If there is one thing that I’m proud of, it is not having any regrets at all.
No matter what baggage I come with, I’ll never leave room for regret.
Loved this one, Shy!
I’m jealous of that last line especially. That was the perfect ending.
Thank you, Rachna 🙂 Yes guilt and regret are the worst things to get over. Most useless emotions but most rampant too.
How much you speak in such few words! Kudos. Wish there were no room for regret either but I know that it creeps up on you so easily.
Thank you, Shalini 🙂
Regret is a cruel monster. Sits heavily on your heart even when you try to push it away. But true, it’s a wasted emotion.
Its so difficult to leave – love the way you have expressed i there Shailaja!!!
Don’t even leave room for that. By this point, there is no time for regret as you’ve probably already wasted a lot!
Thank you so much Raj ?
No no no no… No room for regret ? Loved reading this ?
True 🙂 Sometimes, we just have to push past it though, especially when you’re saying goodbye for good.
Thank you!
Aww…But you know, the ‘regret’ is what takes the maximum place, leaving little room for everything else..
Lovely!
Thank you, Prasanna 🙂 You’re too sweet!
Just love reading your posts!!!