Everyone receives gifts they neither need nor want—bath salts for people who only shower, a frilly nightgown wrapped up for someone who sleeps in sweatpants, that 27th tie . . . Sometimes we ... [+]
Kenneth N. Margolin is a retired attorney, and lives with his wife, Judith, in Massachusetts. Relatively new to fiction, Ken’s stories have been published online and in print. "Munchkin" is on Short Circuit #01, Short Édition's quarterly review.
When did my heart harden? How did empathy slip away? Dr. Lindelson pondered these questions in the spacious office where she had practiced psychotherapy for forty years, since she completed her residency in psychiatry. Colleagues considered her one of the best. Recently though, she grew impatient at her patients' tales of depression, anxiety, confusion, anomie. Her last patient wore a two thousand dollar suit, Stefano Ricci diamond plated tie, and an over-sized Rolex to his therapy session, the outfit as aggressive as the staccato words he hurled her way. His vast wealth, he told her, consumed