55 Fiction

I like the idea of writing succinctly.

Strunk and White's rule number seventeen in The Elements of Style's Principles of Composition (as cited by Stephen King in his On Writing) is "omit endless words."

Cleaning through my compter files I came across my entry to 55 Fiction. As you'll find by clicking on this post's title, 55 Fiction is a contest in which you're asked to tell a story in 55 words or less (the title doesn't count). (I can't tell if this site is updated or if the contest still exists.)

Here's my attempt:

Modern Medrash
The scene is Heaven. He’s been busy prior to a human being’s creation and now G-d smiles.
"Before I let you go, I must give you one last thing; "a sense of -"
"Humor," one man finishes.
"Direction," another says.
Which is why some people have a sense of humor, others a sense of direction.