Self-Review – Rivalry

Let’s Look at Rivalry

Sibling rivalry shows up a lot in my fiction, in particular my shorter fiction. But in this short story, that fact of life for so many of us takes a deadly center stage.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2021.

Background for Rivalry

The original prompt word was just the word that became the title.

Plot for Rivalry

As the narrator talks about her sister to…someone, it becomes clear very quickly that the sibling rivalry they shared was a lot worse than it is for the vast majority of people.

But who is the narrator talking to? Quite possibly, the audience of one is the spiritual leader who will be giving the narrator their last rites (or the equivalent thereof) just prior to the narrator’s execution.

Yeah, it’s like that.

Characters in Rivalry

The characters are just the narrator, talking about her sister.

Memorable Quotes

My sister and I never agreed on anything but where we would sit in the family car. I was always on the left. I don’t even know why anymore. I would ask her, but she’s dead.

But back to our childhood. Since we were always on our own respective sides, we would inevitably end up with impressions which differed. Differed is way too nice a word for it. Clashed. I mean clashed.

When we went to the zoo, she was the one who got to see the side with the dolphins. But I never did. It was one of those drive through places, you see. And the zoo doesn’t allow you to double back. It’s all one way.

I didn’t know there were any dolphins there until I grew up. Then again, she never knew there were any gorillas. If I had known, I would have traded gorillas for dolphins, every single time. Ah, well.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is contemporary fiction. The mood is fairly sedate until the ending, when the bottom just completely drops out. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Rating

The story has a T rating. While the vast, vast majority of this little story is almost wholesome, it does end with quite the bang.

Takeaways

While I tend to pride myself on creating original characters who I hope are as real to you as they are to me, the narrator is not based on anyone I know.

And although my brother and I engaged in our version of sibling rivalry, I never felt this way about him.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.