#302 Devotion- Adam Haslett
Owen and Hillary are siblings, they have lived with each
other since their parents died. They are very close and have nobody else of
importance in their lives. They live a quiet existence. Life goes by in a
steady calm wind, and emotions stay under the surface.
“A long shadow, cast by their house and the others along
this bit of street, fell over the playing field. He watched it stretching
slowly to the chestnut trees, the darkness slowly climbing their trunks,
beginning to shade the leaves of the lower branches.”
Once in their lives they had a companion, Ben who they both
shared desires and longings for. Upon leaving, he wrote Hillary about his love,
but in a move of jealousy, Owen hid the letters and never spoke of them nor of
his feelings for Ben. She new of both the letters and the feelings, and she
herself let her anger go.
This was a depressing one. Nobody communicating, selfishly
holding on to their own secrets, suffering with their own regrets…and in the
end, all there is left is quiet acceptance, no hope of happiness of
fulfillment, mere complacent survival. The mood is exceptionally British.
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