(What If? Exercise: Read the description here.)

Samantha had chosen her favorite flower when she was young.

Unfortunately, none of the boys knew what it was.

Nobody ever gave her the flowers she wanted.

From roses to lilies, they always missed.

Lenny finally thought to ask her.

Overjoyed, Samantha shared her secret.

Whispered in his ear.

Embarrassed, he grinned.

Ridiculously obvious.

Sunflowers.

This piece is based on What If? Exercise 93: “Ten to One”. The exercise is to write a 55-word story in which the first sentence has ten words, the second has nine, etc., until the last sentence has only one word. The objective is to show that precision and thrift in writing can produce surprisingly powerful results. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!

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