What can I say?

Classic CvanD, with improvements galore.

Obviously, I liked this newer version even more than the last; much more detail and more general story, too, all while retaining that delicious twist.

Thank you sir; seeing you in the New Stories listing makes me sit up and take notice EVERY time.

You are a boon to the site, and a teacher of proper storytelling.

I, and so many others, love your stories, whether Simon-based or otherwise, and I look forward to more from you as much as anyone.

THANK YOU.

https://eunuchworld.co/s13844

Only by a stroke of pure luck did IEunuch emerge with the original version of this story. Otherwise it would have been lost to the ether.

Somewhere in the changeovers, shutdown and rebuild, this story was consumed, and not spit back up. I felt real devastation when I had to tell C van D it was gone forever.

Without missing a beat, C van D offered to re-write it. That his re-write was so close to the original was a real masterstroke. The changes he made were all skillful. It was a slightly different ending, but I found it just as hard hitting as the first.

I'm so glad we have the re-write AND the original to compare. It shows what a great writer can accomplish with the same material. C van D deserves a huge amount of praise for this.

Just a warning to C van D if he is reading this. I'm about to borrow a couple of your characters from the Simon Universe again. Nothing dramatic, just a quick cameo. I just love thinking your characters exist in a greater world, and that world is just too fun to ignore. You let me steal from you once. Now I'm like a thief returning to scene of the crime.

Fair warning to the other good authors around here. I'm coming for YOU next!