“The king died and then the queen died” is a story. “The king died, and then the queen died of grief” is a plot.

– E.M. Forster

I don’t remember being aware of that quote when I wrote this little piece – it seems unlikely, though it was a long time ago, maybe 1992 or thereabouts – but it captures exactly what I was trying to achieve: a very short story (we’d call it flash now, of course) that is nonetheless satisfying beyond the succession of events it describes. So I’m glad to have (re?)discovered it now.