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Christopher Sworen's avatar

The friendship between Penn and Roger was truly moving. Roger was a good friend and basically saved Penn's future! And that ending.. "poetic justice" is what springs to my mind :)

PS.: this story reminds me a lot of a novel I wrote. Maybe you could take a look once I publish it. I’ll let you know haha ;)

PS. 2: There's something inherently funny about a man who calls himself "Birthday Cake." I just can't stop laughing.

Thank you for this riveting story, Parker! Cheers!

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Parker McCoy's avatar

Hehe. You’re very welcome, Christopher. Yes, the birthday cake thing popped into my head and I ran with it. I think it was a good move. Oh, well, I definitely want to check it out when you release it.

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Rea de Miranda's avatar

Love this Parker! Dear Penn. 🩷

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Parker McCoy's avatar

Penn had quite a round of it. Hehe. Thank you so much for reading.

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Mark Armstrong's avatar

Gotta love a bad guy named Birthday Cake!! 🎂👍😅

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Parker McCoy's avatar

Haha. Yes, I don’t think I’ve read about one with that name before. Thank you so much for reading, Mark.

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K.C. Knouse's avatar

Whoa! What an ending. One cake too many for the birthday boy and his driver. You did a fine job of setting this up, Parker. A fun read.

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Parker McCoy's avatar

Thank you so much, KC.

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Jessica Newton's avatar

I loved this, the twist was perfect, almost didn’t see it coming, which it made it even better. Amazing Writing technique. I always enjoy your stories.

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Parker McCoy's avatar

Thank you so much. I do what I can. Ha.

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Anton's avatar

This was hauntingly beautiful. The tonal shift—from a tender coming-of-age moment to a quiet tragedy wrapped in surreal menace—caught me off guard in the best way. The friendship between Penn and Roger grounded everything in something real and warm, even as the shadows lengthened around them. Loved how the final twist didn’t scream; it whispered, and somehow that made it land harder. Fantastic storytelling

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Parker McCoy's avatar

Thank you so much for the kind words. Yes, I love a twist that is so quiet you almost miss it and have to read again. This means so much, Anton. Thank you.

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