I withstood the pain by imagining and rejoicing in YOU.

Rose, the letter explains, decided to donate her kidney after watching a documentary about an “altruistic kidney donation.” Rose then goes on to write, “As I prepared to make this donation, I drew strength from knowing that my recipient would get a second chance at life.

This all comes to a head when a letter arrives from Rose Rothario, the woman whose kidney is now living in Chuntao’s abdomen. But all Chuntao wants is a cigarette and a drink, relics from her old life, that, according to the doctors and her loved ones, must be left behind. Or her family, who is constantly texting to “check” not “check in.” She feels everyone is expecting her to be grateful. She can’t stand the attention from her husband, Bao, who looks at her like she’s priceless. This discomfort continues once Chuntao gets home.

“And there was I: blinking fool, alone in my anger just like they always wanted.” When told through Chuntao’s voice, the details of living feel much more barren, scary, than the details surrounding death. It’s after the surgery, when Chuntao is all alone in her room, that her mood turns sour. A stranger decided to donate one of their kidneys and it was a match for Chuntao. She dwells on the happiness, and it sounds like she misses it.īut then, she tells us, a miracle happened. With flowers! It’s not the pain or discomfort or fear of death she remembers. “ When I was dying, people were nicer to me.” She then goes on to describe how the nurses took care of her, washing her hair and changing her, how her family flew from all over the world to come see her. When we first meet Chuntao, she is reflecting on what it was like to be on her deathbed. But what if it doesn’t? In the short story “The Kindest,” from Issue 65 of American Short Fiction, Sonya Larson explores what happens when someone doesn’t follow the typical uplifting, survivor narrative. These stories, where the character becomes mission-bound to live every day to its fullest, are easy for the reader to believe, as one hopes that coming so close to the dark unknown would carry with it some sort of positive impact. Returning from the brink of death with a new lease on life: it’s a common trope in fiction and nonfiction alike.

The kindest lie review