If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know that writing short fiction is a struggle for me. I keep trying though, and a few times, I’ve boldly submitted one of my stories to a literary journal. Oh, I was hopeful. This time for sure, I thought. Each and every time. No luck.

I had other things on my mind though, like polishing and publishing the novel I’d written, so I set aside the quest for seeing one of my shorts published. I ignored the emails from Duotrope, tempting me with notifications of journals seeking submissions.

However, somewhere somehow I heard about Vine Leaves Literary Journal, edited by Jessica Bell and Dawn Ius. When I read about its concept of publishing vignettes, something clicked.

Here’s their definition of the term:

“Vignette” is a word that originally meant “something that may be written on a vine-leaf.” It’s a snapshot in words. It differs from flash fiction or a short story in that its aim doesn’t lie within the traditional realms of structure or plot. Instead, the vignette focuses on one element, mood, character, setting or object. It’s descriptive, excellent for character or theme exploration and wordplay. Through a vignette, you create an atmosphere.

Occasionally, I play around with writing vignettes. I had written one that I loved, but never tried submitting because it wasn’t exactly a story, not even a flash story. At one point, I rewrote it as a poem, which did not succeed. Anyway. I had this vignette just sitting there, so I thought, Why not submit it?

Guess what? Yep! They accepted it. Unfortunately, they accidentally omitted the last line! They’ve apologized and will print it again in it’s entirety in the next issue (April), but since I was excited to share it with you today, I’ll give you the link anyway, but we’ll play a little game.

Can you guess the last line?

Read and come back here to give me your best guess: A Meditation