When wronged, is it better to seek revenge or to forgive? A Serious Matter describes the efforts of two long-lost childhood friends, Jeannie and Violet, to come to terms with their hatred of a mutual, unnamed enemy.

• Jeannie already has a restraining order against the man, her estranged husband who previously tried to kill her.

• The same man also killed Violet’s fiancé in a drunk-driving accident on Violet’s wedding day and feels no remorse. Jeannie learns about the accident and reaches out to Violet at the funeral, rekindling their friendship.

• When Jeannie and Violet learn the man is being released from jail after serving only a few months of his jail sentence, they decide justice has not been served and they have to create a plan of vigilante revenge.

• When their murder-for-hire plan does not execute in the way they had envisioned, their lives are changed forever.

Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.