All Comments on 'Gift'

Suicide is the ultimate selfish act.

Some kinds of pain never heal.

You know if this was in a different category I would give a totally different comment. However, being where it is, I believe the end result is a definite possibility for all cheaters. All are selfish and stupid.

no rating

I don't condone suicide or murder. Just pain.

only selfish is you believe in some sort of afterlife.

No,

she doesn't

and now, never will.

Her actions 2 years ago caused pain for all concerned.

Her actions today do not solve anything. They do not improve anything.

They just cause more pain for those left behind.

and all the psychobabble in the world cannot justify this ending.

5 star, easily.

It's such a shame though that in real life, people are far too selfish to think about others and the impact they have on them with their actions, more so when it comes to unfaithful spouses.

Love it though how you managed to point out that there was no happiness for her anymore once she turned so despicable.

2 wrongs don't make a left and the world still turns, TK U MLJ LV NV

Up until the last paragraph this thing read like a woman's magazine article on cheating. Suicide, as solution is always foolish, and not at all satisfying in this story. In this case, it reinforces my belief that people who cheat are stupid, crazy, or both. Sure, you can talk about "reasons" you want to, but life is short and there is no time for losers and their shitty behavior! The best thing anyone can take from these stories is to use their BRAINS, and shun people who seem: stupid, immature, nuts, impulsive, and are in every way foolish. These are the people that make bad decisions. If it is not cheating, then it will be something else. They make terrible partners and worse spouses.

Useful and thoughtful up until the last paragraph. You should have just stuck with Marina's story.

something you can Live With. TK U MLJ LV NV

I think the summary is incorrect. Once again she took the quick/easy way out.

As any therapist will say, no one can MAKE you do anything. She is not responsible for her husbands trust issues or lack thereof, that's on him. She is not responsible for his happiness or his despair, she can't MAKE him feel anything. If he wants to wallow in misery that's his issue.

As for suicide, it's not an act of contrition, it's about escaping consequences. What consequences did she have to avoid? The divorce was finished, she got her alimony and assets from the dissolution, it had been a year since the divorce so why now?

I suspect that the author is playing to the BTB crowd who aren't happy unless blood is spilled and if that's the case, mores the pity, I generally like CPetes stories. Death does not equal the scales, it does not balance the bad things you've done, it doesn't ennoble you...it's just death. So why did she kill herself? Guilt? It's been two years, she would have moved on. Punishment? So she cheated, big deal? In this day and age, who cares? Besides Muslims or misigynists?.

Agree with Jasonnh ...

She didn't really learn anything, and she certainly refused the gift he gave that of the opportunity to find happiness.

To take her life strikes me as an individual clearly not happy, depressed, and an assortment of other maladies.

Thanks to you both for posting!

It raises so many questions and with the sudden flip over at the end distracts us completely from thinking about her various "discoveries". Well written piece.

And I was certainly very happy to see a new contribution from you! Thanks very much! Cpete, one of your best qualities is trying to put forth a thoughtful spin-like approach towards the generalized cliches existant in this genre. Yes, even in this brief flash, you provide the reader with some "food for thought"....

Yet, something seemed missing. And it isn't length, or even more depth of character development. Substitution of the S.I.L confrontation for the MAIN one between the spouses? May be that was it, because ex-hubby was awarded no voice in this, and since he was credited for being the catalyst for HER enlightenment, this abscence seemed, ugh, jarring(?)...well, at least a little bit.

The ending, while not telegraphed, did seem a little at cross purposes to the overall tone achieved in the narration. The final act of defeat (yes, I thought it selfish, as well IMHO), clearly shows she didn't learn any thing afterall. Sure, we want cheaters to pay a price, but what we REALLY want is for them to learn from their mistakes. So it seemed like the finale is tacked on in an attempt to passify a "certain" part of the audience, but robs the rest of the audience from the satisfying ending that would be the outcome from witnessing any real revelations gleaned. Why cater to the part of your readership that WASN'T actually interested in "thinking" too deeply whilst in contemplation of your work?

I get it, I do. I appreciate it, really. I think that your ideas here could have been expressed more effectively. I think it is in you to make this a 5 star effort, but yet, this stopped just short of there. Sorry, but even so, it won't stop me from craving your next attempt to get me thinking. And I can't wait to see what cliche you tackle on your follow-up effort.

Thanks, again!

I think the self examination and explanations were intelligent, logical, and indicated a sadder but wiser person. We can all relate to such growth, though hopefully less painful than her and her husband's ordeal. What is saddest is that she may now have the wisdom and experience to actually become a responsible adult and a good wife, for someone. But not for the poor man who bore the brunt of her infidelity and stupidity. At least not immediately. He probably wants a good wife. She may, now, be smart and wise enough to be a good wife. Over time they might have rediscovered their attraction for each other. Unlikely, but it could have been possible.

But to then end with her taking her own life, belies all she claimed to have learned. In the end we are left with the tragic behavior of a mentally ill woman, and it is no fun to read about that. Your ending and hers are the same: a cop out. Just can't give that high marks.

But in doing so you made the story not make sense. She found happiness from within but is committing suicide? She wouldn't change any of it? It all worked out for the best? These are the exact opposite of the thoughts of someone who is standing on a ledge. Life didn't work out. They have choices that they regret. They are not happy. That is why they are ending their life.

If you replaced "happiness" with "inner peace" or "resolution" then it would have made more sense and been a better story. I have to give this a 2. The writing was good but the ending directly contradicted the entire story.

please go to 'Huffington Post' or 'Your Tango', as this is her musings (my tiny portion only the ending)

Thanks for reading

Well, suicide aside you (or the other writer) did capture one element of a cheater mindset that gets completely ignored on this site: the act is done selfishly, needlessly, and sometimes impulsively...but it is always contextualized later as either having been for the best or being someone else's fault (usually the victim).

This story should have been posted as non erotic. Why did you not have the writer post her own story with your suggested ending? As for the postings about this as a sop to the BTB group it isn't there is nothing here but the darkness of the writers life being held out to the world and as a BTB fan I would have liked to have the background and husbands thoughts to her affair, all in all I do not care for the story but I predict it will max out the voting as all the pseudo intellectuals on this site gush over it.

Why is she trying to commit suicide? And I say trying because it's not a given that she will die. Perhaps she will live out the remainder of her life in a hospital or a facility that cares for vegetables. Perhaps she will survive and go on to lead a happy life. Perhaps she will die. Who knows? Living in the San Francisco area, I know people jump from the Golden Gate Bridge and survive. So her death isn't a given. While I have enjoyed some of your previous work, this story was a miss. Just didn't like it one bit.

She didn't regret her decision so why would she kill herself? I must be missing something

Chilley

With this end she showed how selfish she was! 1st - Selfish to look for her pleasure, not thinking about her marriage and about her husband; 2nd - Jumpimg from the bridge, selfish to not want to face the consequences of her acts! 2*

No. You are better than this.

Learn from your mistakes and move on. Makes no sence she took her own life , that killed this short story!

Not if she jumped off a bridge.

Sounds more like an immature ex's fantasy. Confess the guilt and then sentenced to death.

Without God, anything is permissible.

Very confused by her words:

Ultimately, I don't regret what I did, though I do deeply regret the hurt I caused.

She didn't regret the affair just the consequences? After all her rhetoric spouted just before she kills herself, all the words in what she should have did, knowing that, she still would've ultimately done the same again. WTF?

Makes no sense at all. This writer picks things out of help books and tries to create stories around them. He hasn't got it right yet.

I would do a sequel where she survives, and gets psychiatric help. Without knowing any marital background would even consider reclaiming their marriage. Sometimes total teardown is needed to rebuild. Her ex has a few sex romps, and comes back to her. They find peace. Or he provides closure with a ringed finger signifying he moved on and away then she finishes the job and does ultimately regret doing what she did, and if allowed a do over she would not cheat.

This story by itself is ultimately pathetic and the scores show it.

I agree with lots of the commentators questioning the jump. Why in the world, after gaining deep understanding of herself, would she jump? That indicates a loss of all hope and clearly, with the understanding she found, she should have hope for "the next one." She is now a more serious person and would treat her relationships more seriously. So why jump? Cpete, is it possible that you just couldn't figure out how to end this one? Please do respond to explain the jump.

too much to rate this. Look forward to another story from u.

So many people refuse to acknowledge the consequence of cheating and get mad at you if you write a story where you describe a very common consequence: depression and its result. Bravo! Written in the very good tradition of The Celt himself.

The end (last paragraph) seemed like it had nothing to do with the rest of the story... Like someone cut and paste by mistake.

Not much of a story. No characters worth identifying with. Felt a little sadness about the divorce and then suicide . That doesn't make a story.

The more I think about it, the greater my realization I was generous with my rating.

AMerryMan

That's too bad. Their loss.

I was torn between a 3 and 4, but her suicide pushed it up to a 5!

Too many of the stories here have wives who don't think to just TALK to their husbands when they are dissatisfied/unhappy in their marriages, giving their husbands the opportunity to improve things, or failing that, have a fair divorce leaving them both free to seek happiness elsewhere.

added by cpete, was gratuitous and cheap. Why put a suicide into someone's voice, after identifying the original author of the majority of the piece?

Rude of you. You'd like someone to write a story that ends with you shooting yourself?

Green-something

FrancisMacomber has an excellent story, where the cheating wife gets the divorce document and she is happy for it. She doeas not know her lover is a predator and the predator left her alone soon...........suicid after quick traumatic depression. Sometime the consequence of cheating is deep depression and the deep depression=suicid danger!

That is fine writing. What a great warning. *****

Perhaps Cinderella or Snow White would be more to your reading satisfaction as it is obvious fairy tales are high on your reading list...

The end doesn't match the rest. No regrets means there was value in the affair and certainly no reason for this end. Can't give more than three.

Life is, fortunately, a lot more complex than Marina Pearson's little homilies would have you believe.

And it can be a lot more fun than cpete seems to think (assuming that his thoughts go beyond adding sad little bits to Pearson's homily).

The ending was perfect for this wife.

No explanation as to why she felt suicide was the only option. not my kind of story

Fortunately, my parachute opened almost immediately and as I floated down I thought to myself "They were right. BASE jumping is indeed the most fun you can have with your pants on."

... and that ending... Everything I look for in a flash story.

This certainly WAS a story about a cheating wife.

What it was NOT is ...

Erotic!

Quite the opposite!

2*

I get that a flash story is a wham, bam, thankyou ma'am sort of thing, but this story idea doesn't lend itself to that. It absolutely cries out for a longer treatment.

Well written as usual.

However, there is absolutely no indication that she would kill herself. Normally, I don't have a problem with a story taking a vacation from reality, but this is Suicide!

while i agree her suicide was a totally selfish act... It does make sense in one way. The reasoning or explanations the wife used show a mentally ill person. Its a shame no one else caught this.

For example the states early in the story she no longer finds her husband sexually/physically attractive? that she has NO interest in him. and odds are the husband see the changes in her...the yawns.. The fake excuses,..

Yet a few paragraphs down she says she longs for the day when herhusand wooed her.,?! how EXACTLY does that work.?..

WHY would a husband make an effort to be with his wife when its clearshe doesnt want him ?.

""It absolutely cries out for a longer format".

No it doesn't.

Doesn't make sense, even if try to force sarcasm, it doesn't make sense.

Like the story.

I have a problem, why did she commit suicide? What happened during the 2 years which caused her to do it? She doesn't regret what happened other than the hurt she caused, which is not a good reason for the suicide. What else happened?

The nice wife had an affair, got caught, shit hit the fan. Sooo she runs away by flying 550 feet off a bridge. Some people refuse to play the marriage game and can't face reality. If her life was so bad why did she get married in the first place? In any organized religion taking your own life will send one's soul to the Pits of Hell, no ifs, ands, or butts. So much for dying for your husband. This was no oops, she fucked up and now there is no second chance.

This is one sick puppy. Two years later she's still obsessing about what she did to her husband. She might have called him up and asked to talk. He might have saved her life. Oh well...

I'm at odds with myself on this story in that it's well written and reads well but is disturbing.

It is difficult to understand the about 80-90% of the suicide people have seriouse depression. A family catastrophe (It is independent from the responsible person is his/herself or others) changes an average depression people into deep depression and without medicine (now it has found the Li (carbonate) is the best QUICK suicide prevention medicine until the modern transmitter level increasing antidepressants effect........) the deep depression is deadly illness = suicide.

this one is deep in meaning and I am not talking about the drop into the river... do some thinking on this one folks

at 124 mph (200 km/h). Not too many are going to survive that impact. The instantaneous Velocity at the 550 ft point is about 128 mph. But since Terminal Velocity rules come into play due to gravitational changes and air resistance the woman's speed on impact would have been limited to between 124 mph and 126 mph depending on where she was located and her height above sea level.

Although there are at least one Brit and one American bknown to have survived +18,000 ft drops without parachutes over Nazi Germany in WW2. Both were documented and confirmed at the time by the German Luftwaffe.

Interesting story, odd ending . . . and now another odd ending especially for those who hated the suicide . . . perhaps she survives, and is found miles downstream pretty messed up, no memory of what happened or who she is. She's now a 'Jane Doe' in a hospital for treatment and then in recuperative therapy for a prolonged period. She does not regain her memory.

Sadly, her family never finds her, but finds a trail and evidence of possible suicide by jumping off the bridge. No body is ever found and after a while, she is assumed dead. Ex-husband and his sister both feel guilt . . . though they shouldn't, but they do. Both live alone for some time . . . the ex-husband often wishing he'd tried harder . . . often desperately missing the woman he once felt he could never forgive.

Meanwhile, she gets a new identity, marries one of the doctors who treated her, finds simple but rewarding work she enjoys, and has a happy life. She has many opportunities to have sex outside of marriage (and her husband is actually very understanding and would not be horribly devastated if something brief were to happen). But for some reason, anytime she finds herself attracted to someone other than her husband, she has sudden feelings of revulsion, nausea, and oddly enough, vertigo. As a result of this reaction, any attraction she feels outside of marriage quickly passes. This new 'Gift' it would seem was for her new husband as much as for her (though neither may ever know it).

in your world a slut/hot wife is some one to be idolized. when you should set her free to infest the world with STD's.

The story is told. The character fully formed and established. With this ending it doesn't slip into the mediocrity of wife cheats, has remorse, can't get over feelings, and reconciles or divorces and life goes on. There are hundreds of stories like that.

This is a statement about the devastation of letting your gonads rule. Thank you

@ LostOneThere The American survivor was a flying fortress machin gun man who jumped from the burning plane without parashut. He did not want to burn, instead of fire he choose the "deep" impact. He fell into a pine tree forrest and the branch of the pine tree decreased his speed and he arrived in deep snow. His body was over with broken branches but he survived.......the German doctors treated him well, he was a miracle.

....she'd have been far better off to never marry, just hook up with every man/woman/zebra she can find and live solely and exclusively for her orgasms.

Then she will have constant passion forever.

Nothing else matters anyway, right? We can all take a lesson from this story...

Never marry, always hook up and get your orgasm, be passionate or die.

Ph-f-f-f-f-f-t-t-t-T!......

But find it odd that she would make these great revelations about herself, then totally waiste the knowledge that could have lead to a great life to kill herself. Usually great self revelation leads to improvement, not death...

After so much soul searching she decides to jump off a bridge? Good thing not all cheating whore wives arrive at the same conclusion. Otherwise the rivers and canals would be clogged up with drowned whores yearound. There are no barriers set up by man to keep a horny wife in line. The Arabs stone them to death and still they continue to fuck out of wedlock. The Americans shower them with all types of modern conveniences and malls to waste their money on. They usually wind up buying sexy underwear for their lover's delight and hiding it from their husbands. In the event they're caught and divorced, they hit the marriage lottery jackpot and are rewarded with half of the assets in the marriage. The system is broken because there are no real consequences for their actions. And even if there were dire consequences, like stoning, it still wouldn't stop them. The heat in their twats short circuits all rhyme and reason. Much to the dismay of the cuckold husbands and to the glee of future lovers.

You have about 8.4 seconds to cover 550 feet. When you hit the water, the first thing that happens is you get wet. How long do you stay wet? Depends - on how long it takes for someone to find you. B T B !!!

live selflessly, & die willingly. nothing else makes a diff.

dont feel sad she ended her life, rejoice that she revealed the true truth of her life & embraced death the way we ought to.........A GIFT.

She finally got it right, and made the correct choice! Good for her!

Too many people live in fairytale land, instead of reality. They think the universe revolves around them, that the universe owes them something, for merely being born! Too many people expect a relationship to be that Hallmark myth of 'Happily ever after', with no effort required, and when it doesn't happen, (because it's a myth), they give up, and look elsewhere, anywhere, except where they should be looking; at themselves!

It's adultery. Don't do it.

“I honestly believed that I was a bad person for no longer feeling attracted to my ex-husband.” – Well, if you CHEATED, instead of TALKING to your ex about the problems you found in your marriage, you WERE a bad person!

“I wanted my ex-husband to long for me, want me and care enough about me to woo me.” – Many of the “Loving Wives” want their husbands to “woo” THEM, but it never occurs to them to try to SEDUCE their husbands, though, does it?

Every adulterer should kill themselves. It's for the best.

all of us adulteress and want to be ones we;'ll all kill ourselves next! So go ahead annony you asshole

The gift that keeps on giving...

Happiness is .... A warm gun...

I don't approve of her conclusion.

She didn't regret becoming a whore but still killed herself?

Pretty dark and not in a satisfying way.

I wish she would have killed the bitch she let herself become and changed into a better person.

Powerful compelling story, well written.

When she bragged that she had no regrets for the affair, she told me all I needed to know about her heart. It's best that she not be available to ruin another relationship and stain those linked to it.

I am more of the BTB persuasion but will accept suicide as an alternate. If she wanted to repay her ex somewhat she could have taken out life insurance in his favor, I am sure this would have made him think more of you.

was jump....or stand in front of an express train and ...SPLATTER....NO ONE WILL MISS THE SKANK....

best ending i have ever read to a cheating whore story .

"As I stepped over the bridge railing and leapt into the empty air, that thought of happiness competed with the question of how long before I hit the water 550 feet below."

BEST ENDING EVER!!!

And if she's unlucky, she'll survive.

The composition of the story was very thought out, with the result being I never suspected the end until the last.

Point being, whether or not the wife was punished, wasn't important to the quality of the story. Authors are under no obligation to give us the ending we desire.

"I wanted my ex-husband to long for me, want me and care enough about me to woo me." This is the missing factor in most of the LW stories. She wants her ex-husband to do those things for her, but what did she do in the early stages of marriage to please him (not sex)? Did it fade away and the marriage became one-sided being it being all about her? Think about it.... we guys have feelings too.....

Happiness jar within and fill it like she wanted.....

Not a happy ending. Though well done. Gave it 4*

Really didn’t like the ending.

The bitch deserved it!

...for a first person story. Suicides cannot tell us what their thoughts were just before. Only live people talk.

Since she did not tell us what were her thoughts as she jumped, how many more of her previous thoughts did she not tells?

Maybe the whole article/story is false.

Paul in Oklahoma

Yea, the bitch is fish bait.

Seriously.

You think these are actual non-fictional stories? That everything you read here is gospel and as true as a straight line? PLEASE get some help. If one tenth of what you read here was true there would be no engagements or marriages anywhere from fear of it never lasting past the initial fuckfest. You need some help my boy.

Because it’s fiction, we can say the wife telepathically sent the message to an experimental psy-reading machine run by a university on the other side of the planet. The whole thing was recorded from beginning to her *splat* end in the cold fridged waters 550’ below on the multi-petabyte SSID storing each days accumulated data (to be transferred to holographic crystal storage within 72 hours, except for variously flagged readings).

It wasn’t until the next day, when a student technician came in to read any interesting readings flagged by the computer, the suicide was actually “actualized” by a sentient being. cpete was given an abbreviated report of the psy-readings by one of the professors of the project. And here he transcribed them, taking some literary license here and there.

There. Does that satisfy your linear, closed within the box thinking?

I didn't see it coming, but I think it worked.

I didn't see this coming at all. I figured she had moved on and found someone new. With all the talk about it not being wrong I was completely fooled. Good author.

This wife was sorry for getting caught. Totally selfish and self centered woman. She doesn't regret the affair one bit and takes the ultimate act of selfishness by committing suicide.

550 feet? Wow! Wonder who is going to clean up that mess.

Me me me me me.

Whilst what you said sounds like it represents some good thinking, it isn't much of a story.

That should be ultimate goal of writer

To have story read and enjoyed

That's rare here. 5