The Causes of the First World War

Abstract

To what extent is the person who triggers a downward spiral, as opposed to the surrounding situations that make it likely, responsible? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, an aged Jaime gets a letter from Fred, asking him to come visit before his pending death. Decades earlier Jaime courted a shy Fred at the local pool, where, after many months, they started Fred’s first homosexual relationship. After the relationship ended, Fred starting drinking more often. Years later, after decades of drinking and a divorce from his wife, he is dying. Jaime goes to visit him, but it’s too late, he is already dead. Jaime is left to wonder, to what extent was he the trigger for this downward spiral?