“A Very Short Story” by Ernest Hemingway. To the Reader. This is a very short story, only 683 words long, which fits our podcast really well. We like short stories that keep a reader’s attention. We also like longer stories that are interesting. But this one is fine. It captures the heart of a soldier during World War One and may be loosely based on Hemingway’s own experience. You see, during World War One, Hemingway was an ambulance driver and was injured, ending up in a hospital bed. He was taken care of by Agnes von Kurowsky, a pretty Italian nurse. Well, they fell in love while Hemingway was in the hospital. They even planned to get married once they returned to America after the war. However, they never married. Soon after returning to America Agnes wrote to Hemingway: Ernie, dear boy, I am writing this late at night after a long think by myself, & I am afraid it is going to hurt you, but, I’m sure it won’t harm you permanently. For quite awhile before you left, I was trying to convince myself it was a real love-affair, because, we always seemed to disagree, & then arguments always wore me out so that I finally gave in to keep you from doing something desperate. Now, after a couple of months away from you, I know that I am still very fond of you, but, it is more as a mother than as a sweetheart. It’s alright to say I’m a Kid, but, I’m not, & I’m getting less & less so every day. So, Kid (still Kid to me, & always will be) can you forgive me some day for unwittingly deceiving you? You know I’m not really bad, & don’t mean to do wrong, & now I realize it was my fault in the beginning that you cared for me, & regret it from the bottom of my heart. But, I am now & always will be too old, & that’s the truth, & I can’t get away from the fact that you’re just a boy – a kid. Then – & believe me when I say this is sudden for me, too – I expect to be married soon. And I hope & pray that after you thought things out, you’ll be able to forgive me & start a wonderful career & show what a man you really are. Ever admiringly & fondly, Your friend, Aggie Hemingway’s son Jack called the loss of von Kurowsky “the great tragedy” of his father’s early life. This experience formed the sentiment and romantic structure of many of Hemingway’s works. Their story was adapted into a 1996 film, In Love and War, where the nurse was played by Sandra Bullock.