Last month I asked for your assistance in helping me determine the appropriate ending to the story, “The Parting Of The Ways.” On August 14, I posted three possible endings.

After reading the story, I invited you to let me know which one I should use. The choice that received the most “Yes” votes would become the story's ending. Please see the outcome of the vote below and, if you didn’t have a chance to read the story, visit the August 14 posting to see if you agree with the conclusion. And now, the results . . .

The Parting Of The Ways

Posted August 14, 2019

Ending I

     Then, from the end of the corridor, a tall, balding man yelled, “cut.” He trudged down the hallway, as Jake and Melinda stood up and straightened their costumes. “That was good, folks. But we’ll do one more take of the last scene of 'The Parting of the Ways' before calling it a wrap.”                                                         

                                                          Percent of respondents voting “Yes”:  62.5%

Ending II

     And so, the final nail entered the coffin, ensuring the “parting of the Ways” from a world neither of them knew how to handle. But in the hereafter, would they again reunite? A frightening possibility, one ponders.                 

                                                          Percent of respondents voting “Yes”:  12.5%

Ending III

     She lay sprawled on the ground for a few minutes, until she was sure Jake wasn’t moving. Then she got up and checked his pulse. Removing her cell phone from her robe pocket, she punched in a phone number. “Vivian, he’s gone—dead as a doornail. That bulletproof vest you lent me worked like a charm. The Ways have now parted.”          

                                                          Percent of respondents voting “Yes”:  25.0%

Alan Lowe, September 16, 2019