“Afflicted” by J.M. Snyder is a terse and intense, at times powerful, and highly focused piece of story writing. It left this reader wanting to know more about the two characters, which was to the good, for what it showed was sufficient to make this a story worth reading. It showed and addressed the crucial moment (or at least one of them) in the couple’s relationship, when honesty and love come to bear against a character deep in despair and suffering.
Much more could be said on the situation described, the condition by which the suffering manifests itself, the relationship itself, and the characters as well. It makes the reader wonder how things will go with this couple, ponder the challenges that they will probably have to face, and how they will respond—whether their relationship will survive them.
This is a potent type of story-writing. It draws the reader in, entices them, fascinates them, even shocks them; but then it offers hope, and shows the power of redemption that comes from the human heart. Good stuff.