“The Promise of the Fruit” by Ann Ahlswede

 

Sighs and sniffling and throat clearing came from the far corner of the room where two old men haggled softly over the pawns on a chess board. The corner was dim as twilight. Cullen turned his head to stare at them, seeing bent spines and white, tufted hair and withered hands reaching out to touch the pawns with such anxiety that life and death hovered over the board, and each breath was a shallow jealous effort. Time dribbled away between the withered fingers.

Another of “The 100 Best Western Stories” as selected by Mr. Lewis, and it is indeed a honey.

This tale from 1963 is full of bitterness as a jaded and injured soldier returns home from the War Between the States. He has had it with fighting and finds a town that has changed as much as he has.

He also finds that the genie of violence is not so easy to put back into the box; simply because one has decided they have had enough, does not make the decision universal for all.

Jaded, world-weary, mature fare.

Easy A.