Reflections

Abstract

There are three main meanings attributed to the word "Reflections" that relate to the stories in this collection and support the choice of title. The first is "Reflections" as reactions: the characters in these stories unavoidably reflect their past in their present; the second is "Reflections" as balance: in balance there is sobriety, to see the world for what it truly is, not what one's mind makes it to be, which several of these characters struggle with; the third is "reflection" as turning inward, introspection: all the stories here are, essentially, moments of introspection or a lack thereof. The flash pieces herewithin have been included to give the collection a sense of cohesion, providing connections between pairs of short stories. The flashes tie together the previous and following short story thematically, for example. However, these connections are purposely loose, unobvious, as the major intention behind this collection is to incentivize the readers themselves to reflect.