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Abstract

What obligations do a divorced couple have to each other? Is there an obligation to return phone calls, or check in on an ex’s welfare? In this philosophical short story fiction, the narrator and Dawn have recently gone through a divorce. They were childhood friends, so they have known each other forever and were married for seven years. However, Dawn refuses to pick up the phone and refuses to return the narrator’s phone calls. He continues calling to “check-in” over a period of years with no response. He reaches out to Dawn’s parents to make sure she is okay. She never responds and, in fact, moves to another city. Eventually, the narrator hears she has committed suicide.