Well, I finally got a chance to read this; I am sorry it took me so long.
I think, of all the stories you have told, this is probably your best, yet will be the one I won't ever read again. It's not that I dislike it--to say so would be an insult by implying something so... insipid or banal as 'liking' it. In fact, as I struggle to clearly express what I'm wearing on my sleeve at the moment, ascribing any emotion seems inadequate; maybe later, when I catch my breath, I can find better words. As to never reading it again? I won't have to, the story is indelibly etched in my mind's eye, and it won't ever be leaving me. Instead it will join a few other stories I've hoarded in my heart's library, a hidden place where I keep those things that have profoundly changed me. I can't say, exactly, why yours affected me so, I just know it has and will continue to do so each time I think of it. For this rare experience, you have my gratitude.