Most of the stories I write about here are accessible online, for no cost. There are exceptions, of course, and this is one of those instances. I have a subscription to One Story, a publication that I’ve subscribed to off-and-on over the years. It’s an excellent literary organization that consistently publishes knockout stories. The latest “Woman from Khao Lak” by Randy F. Nelson is no exception.

The day I received the story in the mail, I read the first page after dinner, but put it down because I wanted to read it in the morning with fresh eyes. I knew after the first paragraph that I was going to love this one: “From a distance we sounded like one of those outdoor birthday parties where the kids have been running wild since noon.” And later, “…if you layered in the screams, the cannonballing, the splashing, the whistles of the lifeguards, and that low sizzle of bodies roasting in the sun, I’d say it was more like a carnival or a county fair…”

And there it is, that often elusive, and oh-so-coveted voice that we short story writers, writers in general, hope to capture in our own prose. That propulsion and artistry of language. Some combination of words whose musicality lulls our imaginations out of the basket, like a snake charmer playing its pungi.

The story takes place at a pool. Water, it turns out, is an essential element. Following the classic storyline “a stranger comes to town,” Nelson, in the next section introduces us to the charismatically mysterious and tragic Mrs. Diana Byrnes. I won’t mention any more about her other than she’s a swimmer and is much older than the lifeguards and staff members at the pool.

The following section—perhaps my favorite—the protagonist sort of breaks the fourth wall by announcing to us that he was eighteen-years-old when the events of the story occurred, but he’s “considerably older now.” A couple sentences later: “I’m saying this in order to let you know that, even though something very sad will occur, you’re not dependent upon a teenager to get you through the whole story.” Here now is an author, Nelson, exploring the full use of POV—that we are now looking upon events that happened a long time ago, but narrated to us from someone for whom these events have taken a different shape and meaning, like sea glass smoothing out over years of rough and tumble.

Simply put, this is a damn good story. Nelson, like all great writers, makes it look easy, effortless. His prose is fresh and confident, breezing along the page like a motorboat on smooth water. Each of the 12 sections of the story — to switch metaphors — is both foundational and adorned with Nelson’s decorative flair, and you can read this story for a mere $2.50. Maybe worth it to pay a few bucks more for a full year subscription. You’ll be swimming in great stories.

More info, including an interview with Nelson, here.

Randy F. Nelson is a multiple-award-winning writer and teacher whose stories have appeared in many national and international publications. He’s the Virginia Lasater Irvin Professor Emeritus of English at Davidson College, where he offered courses in creative writing and nineteenth and twentieth century American fiction. His first collection, The Imaginary Lives of Mechanical Men, won the Flannery O’Connor Award. Individual stories of his have also been recognized in The Pushcart Prize anthology and The Best American Short Stories.

Keith Pilapil Lesmeister is the author of the fiction chapbook Mississippi River Musuem and the story collection We Could’ve Been Happy Here. More info at keithlesmeister.com.