‘You Are Not Alone’ by Vauhini Vara

You Are Not Alone by Vauhini Vara, 2009

The magic trick:

Funny, original descriptions and phrasing

Today’s Vauhini Vara story was included in 2023’s This Is Salvaged collection 14 years after it first published as “A Girl Turns Ten.”

Remarkable that it stands up and fits in with her more recent work.

Here, the girl is actually turning 8. She’s in Orlando, visiting her father and his new wife while her mother recovers from a recent mental breakdown.

The story takes a strange tone wherein our young protagonist both sees through her father’s shtick and admires it right up to the point of believing it. And isn’t that always the way for kids with their parents?

Its short story cousin might be “Admirals” by Michael Chabon, where a boy is trying to sort through the truth behind his dad’s new relationship too.

Anyway, the thing that sustains the whole thing here is just great, creative, original ways of describing situations.

One small example. The protagonist isn’t super impressed with her new step-mom. But the story doesn’t tell us that in boring, basic terms. It comes through in delightful ways like this:

“The girl thinks the stranger might be the kind of person who thinks differently colored M&Ms taste different, even though they don’t.”

You’ll follow a story anywhere when the sentence-by-sentence journey is that much fun.

And that’s quite a trick on Vara’s part.

The selection:

“I want sunglasses,” the girl says, looking at the stranger.

“We’ll get you some sunglasses at the mall,” her father says. “You can have anything you like. You can have lots of sunglasses.”

“My eyes hurt,” the girl says to the stranger.

“Here,” the stranger says, taking off her sunglasses. “Wear mine.”

“Okay,” the girl says. She puts on the sunglasses. She is surprised by the brownness of things.

The stranger laughs. “Look at her!” the stranger says. “She looks like a famous actress!”

The girl strikes a pouty pose, and they all laugh.

As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.