If you could rewrite any book’s ending, which one would you choose?
One of my favorite short stories is Alyosha the Pot by Leo Tolstoy. That is the beauty of short stories as you can change the ending and much of the structure remains.
The story is a disarmingly simple, realist profile of an ultra-obedient, uncomplaining peasant worker whose brief life is defined by hard labor, a fleeting moment of love, and ultimate tragedy.
Alyosha works hard, gets paid very little and in the end he falls for a coworker named Ustiana.
The marriage is forbidden by his despotic father which drives him to despair. On his deathbed at just 21 years old, Alyosha remains gentle and uncomplaining. Right before he passes, he looks out into the room, seemingly transfixed and “full of wonder at something” unseen.
Love stories are not to end this way, but I do not think Tolstoy meant it to be a love story. There is a glimmer of hope in the end, but I view death as the end of any story.
The Side Effects of Endorphins 
I would love to hear you opinion as well