“What kind of love story can you share in two tweets, an Instagram caption or a Facebook post?”
This is a challenge posed in Tiny Love Stories, a column of The New York Times. The rules are simple: the story must be true and within 100 words. Since its launch in late 2018, the column has drawn a wide readership and an avalanche of submissions. Subsequently, 175 submissions handpicked by Daniel Jones and Miya Lee were compiled into a book titled Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less for publication in 2021.
While love manifests in many varied forms, romantic love is often the first that comes to people’s mind. Romance is the dominant theme of the book, but it is not a monotonous read. Each short story is beautifully written with a warm, personal touch, exploring and recording love from a different perspective.
Marriage life is akin to international affairs: trivial matters could easily escalate into major conflicts. Mary Janevic’s “A Breakfast Betrayed”, an anecdote that happened only weeks after she got married, sheds light on how to manage marriage. Janevic left for work after using up the milk without leaving any for her husband. Upon her return from work, she found a bowl on the table. The ceramic bowl, filled with milk-less cereal, sported a handwritten label: “A Breakfast Betrayed. 1993. Wheat on ceramic.” Treating domestic annoyances like this with humour and fun, according to the storyteller, ensured the long-lasting love in their 25-year marriage.
Romance is not a privilege for the young. In “Our Ages Added Up Perfectly” by Sharon Fratepietro, she remembers the anxiety of falling in love at the age of 48. To her relief, all doubts were dispelled when her love interest, a 52-year-old mathematics professor, told her, “I thought 52 and 48 make 100.”
Not all contributors tell happily-ever-after stories. In “I Didn’t Run”, Susan Purvis recalls her relationship with David, which began when he offered her his cupped palms and said, “It’s all yours. My heart.” He was then diagnosed with cancer, but they decided to tie the knot. Their story came to an end 22 months after they first met. Purvis recounted the loss of her husband: “I stood at the river, cupping my palms with ashes, and let go.” In just 100 words, Purvis portrays a bittersweet love that both wrenches and warms the heart, reminding readers that love can outlive mortality.
Familial love is another recurring theme of the book, which revolves around parents and grandparents with dementia. Patients may become incapable of caring for themselves, but their ability and desire to express love remain strong. Drew Hasson’s father kept in his drawer a large stack of notecards showing the same thing: Drew’s name. Bella O’Connor’s grandfather barged into the bathroom only to share with his piano-loving little one a news article about robotic hands playing the instrument. Julia Camp’s grandmother kept pushing away a blanket while shivering from cold but never forgot to wrap it around her grandchild. “Even with everything taken from her,” writes Camp, “she found something to give.” In spite of the doom and gloom, there is at least an ounce of comfort in these stories: while memories may fade, love remains.
Submitted by contributors of every age, the stories are not only a condensed account of love, but also a reflection of our contemporary lives. One thing rings true in the book: technological advancement does not necessarily translate into closer connections between people. Iris Shur, an old lady who does not text or tweet, describes receiving the first-ever phone call from her 14-year-old granddaughter as “unexpected but so welcome”. The title of her contribution, “Call Your Grandmother”, is as direct as it can get.
Julia DiGeronimo’s rib-cracking account of her brief venture into dating apps is both amusing and, in a way, inspiring. She was in a flutter of excitement to receive a message “Heyy”. Was the guy she was texting about to confess his love? Before she could figure out an appropriate response, a second message arrived: “Sorry, didn’t mean the extra ‘y’.” For those unfamiliar with cyber language, “Hey” is a simple greeting. “Heyy”, on the other hand, expresses interest and excitement. The moral of the story lies in the importance of proofreading! To avoid confusion, embarrassment and false expectation, we should always remind ourselves to read the text twice before hitting the send button.
In a Q&A session on Reddit, Daniel Jones explained what separated stories from those he eventually chose to print. “Is the writer able to elevate the story, make sense of it in a way that’s revelatory or even half-revelatory?” This piece of writing advice is also useful for our lives. Pondering on those trivial moments of life, we may somehow find someone or something to cherish and remember. A life well lived, after all, is a life well thought.
