Short Story #2 Reflection

I can see how feedback from the class has highlighted key strengths and opportunities for growth for my short story The Red Bandana. They appreciated the personification of the city and how it seemed to breathe as a character itself. This living creature feels the impact of the tragedy deeply as if the planes were flying into a living being. Just before the violence strikes, this life in the city grounds the story and gives it a sense of ordinary warmth. I want to keep building on this feeling of a breathing city to enhance the contrast between normalcy and the sudden shift to chaos.
The elevator scene’s irony and timestamps resonated well with readers, giving them both a sense of immediacy and, unexpectedly, a bit of dark humor in the otherwise serious context. The firefighter scene and the moment of relief when she exited the building were also memorable, providing glimpses of humanity amid the disaster. 

I’m also interested in weaving in a storyline about her returning to New York years later, passing by that same coffee shop that’s changed yet somehow familiar, or perhaps standing on the bridge and saying a prayer for Welles, the boy with the bandana. Layering this moment of return could bring a feeling of closure and an acknowledgment of her survivor’s guilt, giving her (and readers) a sense of healing.