Changing the first one to present tense did occur first as the most intuitive option, but immediately some inner voice that likes to admire the grass on both sides of the fence piped, “What if it read better if instead all the subsequent drabbles were changed to past tense?!”
I tried skimming it in my head with both tenses, but neither sounded better to me. In my indecision, I thought disinterested parties might see something I’m not seeing.
Thanks for your thoughts, Pandë!