Miriam: A Classic Story of Loneliness

Miriam” is about a 61-year-old widow named Mrs. H. T. Miller who wants to spend the remaining years of her life alone in her apartment near the East River after the death of her husband, H. T. Miller. She is very lonely, has no friends to speak of and does not keep in touch with any of her relatives.
One day, going into a movie theater, she meets a young, intelligent girl named Miriam. Mrs. Miller is intrigued that the girl’s first name is also Miriam…

This creepy short story was originally published in the June 1945 issue of Mademoiselle. “Miriam” was one of Capote’s first published short stories, and in 1946 it earned an O. Henry Award in the category Best First-Published Story.