Celia is Back by Amy Hempel
This is a story taken from Amy Hempel’s anthology Reasons To Live. There is a third person narration where a simple day has been described between a father and his two children—a boy and a girl. The whole story is about abandonment, forgiveness and returning home; about things being broken and getting repaired subsequently. The opening line of the story shows the fath er teaching his children; imparting life lessons like ‘Luck is where preparation meets opportunity’, ‘Be Simple, be Original, be Sincere’, and ‘What is really the thing?’ His daughter is shown to be drawing a legal affidavit with appropriate column for his signature and the Witness. One can assume that such kind of activity must also have been taught by the father. The beginning scenes of the story show them working in the kitchen. They are entering for contests and sweepstakes. He is teaching them tricks to beat the odds. These tricks disguise the most important life lessons which the father want...