Rec:

Reflections on Solitude by @Felpata_Lupin

We all know that drabbles are a true art, and a science — conveying a story or a message in under 200 words (or 100, or 300, however you define a drabble). It’s hard enough as it is, let alone being able to write something that makes the reader whisper to themselves: Wow.

And Chiara did that 26 times -- one for each letter of the alphabet.

If someone had asked me to write 26 drabbles relating to the concept of ‘solitude,’ I’m not sure I could have even come up with that many, never mind good ones — stunning ones. Chiara shows remarkable insight into the human experience in her exploration of solitude in all its forms — good or bad, literal or figurative, purposeful or not. An introvert observes a party from the sidelines. A dancer pushes herself to the breaking point. A little boy plays hide and seek in a dark wardrobe. An amnesiac struggles with unfamiliar names and faces. A pianist loses themself in the music.

Introspective, sometimes melancholy, sometimes bittersweet, sometimes uplifting, these drabbles are always thought-provoking and relatable. And in a number of these Chiara delivers powerful, incisive final lines that pack a punch.

What Chiara has accomplished here, in my opinion, is what drabbles are meant to be, and I can’t recommend them highly enough!