Submitted into Contest #248 (From the Top) in response to: Write a story titled 'Desperate Remedies'. Here is the prompt: Often, one of the most difficult parts of writing a story is giving it a name. I've been known to agonize for days over finding the "perfect" title — because, like it or not, we do judge a story by its title. Those few words at the top of the page set the tone for what follows, and picking the right ones matters. This week, I'm asking you to approach titles in a different way. Rather than writing your story and then choosing your title, we want you to start "from the top" with a just title and see where it takes you. I've selected some evocative titles from literature to inspire you — but don't worry, you don't need to have read the original works to respond to them. A big 'thank you' to Reedsy.com for providing the prompt that inspired the story.
