Smaller Hearts
By Ulf Wolf
()
About this ebook
Harry felt fractional: part man, part air.
His flesh-and-bone part was squashed to four feet three inches by a fate and gravity too cruel to forgive, and the remaining two feet—he saw himself, his real self, as six foot three, not an inch shorter—see-through dream.
Just his luck to have overshot the medical definition of dwarf by a solitary inch (which denied him certain medical benefits along with some extra helpings of sympathy), yet he was one, both in his own as well as others' eyes.
Had he been larger, he would have been ugly. As it stood, he was cute. Though no less ill-intended, for the feeling that fate had dealt him a spiteful hand never strayed far and, at thirty-two, he was still looking for someone to blame.
"You have no idea," he explained to a colleague once in an inebriated moment of weakness, "how it feels to always be looked down upon. How it feels to always look up at." Even sitting down, bar stool to bar stool, the height his eyes had to scale to reach those of his colleague was well over a foot, and he felt like a servile dog looking up at his master, dog eyes always looking up, looking up. Always climbing that foot, that forever intervening, forever excluding, forever humiliating, foot.
"Can't be all that bad," said the normally sized man, slurring slightly as he was now on his fourth drink, looking down at Harry. Then he belched rather loudly. "Sorry."
"It is all that bad," said Harry, who almost gagged on the fumes. "Trust me," while turning quickly the other way for some fresher air. That misty mix of pizza, peanuts and beer belched in his direction was not pleasant.
On paper, the medically authentic dwarf is ill proportioned, some body part or other too big, too small, too long, too short, too fat, too thin, what have you (or some combination thereof). Not so Harry (which definitionally speaking made him a midget): all parts of him perfectly sized and proportioned, only he was built to scale—1:1.5. An inch of him measured an inch and a half of a real man, he used to say. He'd also make the joke sometimes, usually in equally inebriated circumstances, that some mad model railroad engineer had put him together in his basement to run his engines, or as a ticket collector, something like that, only he got the scale screwed up, took 1:150 to mean 1:1.50, ha, ha. One tiny error, and there you have him: Harry. No one even remotely sober ever thought that funny, but laughed nonetheless—considering the source. Those nowhere near sober shrieked with glee and ordered another round (go easy on the little one, bartender).
Well proportioned. Yes, he was that. He had even made sure of that, had measured everything and compared the result to encyclopedia dimensions of real people, or grown-ups (as he thought of those who so effortlessly rose above him). Had measured everything and confirmed it: yes, 1:1.5, in every way. Still, pretty safe from circus recruiters, he figured (something he told himself often, sardonically); not grotesque (a circus requirement), just small, and, apparently, cute.
But it was a sham, good-for-nothing cuteness that never had bought him anything. He was cute the way a grizzly cub, or a small dolphin, or a baby turtle was cute. Something you'd pat with daring fascination, but never bed. Not on your life, mister. And in his own mean little heart he had to admit that he would never stoop to seeking out company his own size.
So he wasn't getting any.
Yet, it did have its advantages. ...
Ulf Wolf
Ulf is a Swedish name that once meant Wolf. So, yes, Wolf Wolf, that's me. I was born Ulf Ronnquist one snowy night in late October, in one of those northern Swedish towns that are little more than a clearing in the forest. Fast forward through twenty Swedish years, ten or so English ones, and another twenty-four in the US and you'll find me in front of an immigrations officer conducting the final citizenship interview, at the end of which he asks me, "What name would you like on your passport?" And here I recall what a friend had told me, that you can pick just about any name you want at this point, and I heard me say "Ulf Wolf." That's how it happened. Scout's honor. Of course, I had been using Ulf Wolf as a pen name for some time before this interview, but I hadn't really planned to adopt that as my official U.S. name. But I did. I have written stories all my life. Initially in Swedish, but for the last twenty or so years in English. To date I have written six novels, four novellas and two scores of stories; along with many songs and poems. My writing focus these days is on life's important questions (in my view): Who are we? What are we doing here? And how do we break out of this prison?
Read more from Ulf Wolf
To Boil a Manchild Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInfidelity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMating Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYama's Visitor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKilling Myself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEvil Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWolverine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Crow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSurprise Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Name is Blade Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHidden Agenda Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTouch Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAwake Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRenegade Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCertainties Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Far Side of Breathing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWinter Cat Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCopier Samurai Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Path Walkers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod the Eskimo Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Killed Hemingway Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDivine Laboratory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBach Lights Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHe Fell Through Clouds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dark King and the Seer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlannery's Bear Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKilling Jesus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlice Thinks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuestions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Smaller Hearts
Related ebooks
Threnody Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Lawyer's Tale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSemi-Charmed: Harper Hall Investigations, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Harry's Lattice: The Atharrais Sequence, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThere’S a Wobble on My G. String Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHorny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Friend the Chauffeur Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHarry and Bo and Other Stories from a Rambling Mind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwo or Three Graces: And Other Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hepplestall's Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story Shack Anthology: Year One Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPearls of Passion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHarry Watt Bounty Hunter: Harry Watt, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGames with the Orc: Monster Smash Agency, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dawn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThirst Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Under the Andes Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Opposite of Remembering Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVulgarian Rhapsody Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStrange New Worlds 2016 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHot Horse Harry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCashier of the Apocalypse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wild Swans Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Cheat Killers: Harry Black Thrillers, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGiovanni's Room and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpare Hours Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDark Run Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Right of Way — Volume 01 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Limit Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Contemporary Romance For You
Ugly Love: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ruin Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wildfire: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Icebreaker: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Starts with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Animal Farm Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Before We Were Strangers: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dirty Thirty Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Intense: Erotic Short Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Your Perfects: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe Someday Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scandalized Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5November 9: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Cinderella: A Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Spanish Love Deception: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wallbanger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under the Roses Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Confess: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The American Roommate Experiment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beautiful Disaster: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beautiful Bastard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Point of Retreat: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Without Merit: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beautiful Player Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heart Bones: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swear on This Life: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slammed: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hopeless Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Perfect: A Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Smaller Hearts
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Smaller Hearts - Ulf Wolf
Smaller Hearts
Ulf Wolf
Smashwords Edition
October 2019
Copyright
Smaller Hearts
Copyright 2019 by Wolfstuff
http://wolfstuff.com
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Smashwords License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
::
Contents
Smaller Hearts
Contribution
About the Author
Harry felt fractional: part man, part air.
His flesh-and-bone part was squashed to four feet three inches by a fate and gravity too cruel to forgive, and the remaining two feet—he saw himself, his real self, as six foot three, not an inch shorter—see-through dream.
Just his luck to have overshot the medical definition of dwarf by a solitary inch (which denied him certain medical benefits along with some extra helpings of sympathy), yet he was one, both in his own as well as others’ eyes.
Had he been larger, he would have been ugly. As it stood, he was cute. Though no less ill-intended, for the feeling that fate had dealt him a spiteful hand never strayed far and, at thirty-two, he was still looking for someone to blame.
You have no idea,
he explained to a colleague once in an inebriated moment of weakness, "how it feels to always be looked down upon. How it feels to always look up at." Even sitting down, bar stool to bar stool, the height his eyes had to scale to reach those of his colleague was well over a foot, and he felt