All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein (4544 Words)
a complex predestination paradox where a time-traveling protagonist is revealed to be their own mother, father, and child. Through time manipulation, the main character (the "Unmarried Mother") is recruited by the Temporal Bureau to facilitate the very events that created their own paradoxical existence.

Paul’s Case by Willa Cather (8,450 words)
The things that keep Paul going are his daydreams of one day living the life of the rich and famous, and his love of music and the theatre. When the latter two are taken away, he decides on drastic action.