The most beautiful short story

I have fallen in love with Eudora Welty.  I had already read her collection of short stories, A Curtain of Green, and her novella, The Robber Bridegroom, both of which I enjoyed, but she didn't skyrocket into my favorite authors (joining Steinbeck and Hemingway and Tim O'Brien) until I read the story

"First Love" in her collection The Wide Net.

The story was so beautiful it literally took my breath away.  It is not at all what I expected it to be from the title.  It was brilliantly crafted and the last line was the most well-placed I've seen in a short story in a long time.  This story is delicate in a way, yet so far-reaching, haunting, resonating in a part of my soul that often gets neglected.  I could tell from the words that were so carefully chosen that Welty loved her characters like a mother loves her own children and every single word in the story is an ode to her devotion to them.  I can honestly say I've never felt something quite like this after reading a short story.  If I had to compare the feeling to another short story I would say it's the most like I felt after reading "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" for the first time...but different.

You absolutely have to read this story.  It's incredible.

Have a beautiful night,

Chelsea