50 to 1

Forced Smile by Valerie O’Shea

I held his hand and told him I would hurt for him, hurt with him, so he wouldn’t have to go through it by himself. Hearing that must have been painful because he winced. His forced smile let me down; it is really me who doesn’t want to be alone.





Valerie O'Shea is a writer based out of Voorhees, New Jersey. She is a poet, published by the National Library of Poetry, as well as a creative nonfiction writer. She received her undergrad degree in Writing Arts and hopes to attend graduate school for Journalism. This is her first 50-word story.