Honor’s definition is murky. To honor someone is to find their best quality and use it to solve a problem in the story. Is your friend loyal, funny, charitable, witty, etc.?
“Show, don’t tell” is the ultimate tool in an author’s toolbox in regards to description. Showing contrast is better than a laundry list especially in short fiction. Using all five senses to answer who/what/where/when/how/why rather than backstory is a great way to grab and hold someone’s attention.
For example, “Chipped red paint scraped against his palm when he grasped the door knob” is more descriptive and active than “He walked to the red door and opened it.”
Dialogue interaction between two characters gives the author another tool to show emotion through action/reaction pairings. In a contemporary story, dialogue should use natural vocabulary you’d hear between two people on a grocery line.
I want to thank every one of you, the fact you responded, alone was significant to me, again thank you.
(I also wrote a general thank you)