Gone. Commentary on J. Paul Ross’s “A Hundred and Twenty-Seven”

As J. Paul Ross’s story “A Hundred and Twenty-Seven” unfolds, our narrator paints a picture. At first, this is a very narrow perspective. As the story goes on, however, this picture becomes clearer and fuller. It begins with our protagonist, Derrick Crosby, who, “was following 127 people online, and all of them were women.” The narrative then proceeds in a casual and languid manner that mimics the action of scrolling through a social media newsfeed.

As is the case with social media, the reader doesn’t get the full context by the first set of images. Instead, we’re compelled to read-on and witness Derrick Crosby’s search. “And though he would smirk at their clever observations, and sigh when they were purposely divisive, he never interacted with them…” Why is he looking at these profiles? “[H]e checked with friends and the friends of the friends of the women he followed…” A set of possibilities present themselves, but you’d be incorrect to stick with the first assumption.

Who is he searching for? “…he always logged off at 7:08 because 7:08 was the minute he had left for work without saying goodbye.” Aha. Now we’re getting somewhere. The narrator uses repetition to gradually build the context, “Derrick Crosby was following 127 people,” while at the same time the reader learns that this obsession is fuelled by something stronger than curiosity.

It’s not voyeurism. It is the thing that causes us to re-live a moment in time repeatedly in search of some new piece of the greater puzzle. It’s not a who, but a what. This thing is grief, “and a hundred and twenty-seven unheard goodbyes.”

Source: Ross, J. Paul. “A Hundred and Twenty-Seven.” Flash Fiction Magazine, 10 December 2023, https://flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2023/12/10/a-hundred-and-twenty-seven/.

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