PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Go to her site to find out more about the Friday Fictioneers.
Live or Die
She sighed.
He waited.
Over the hill, the sun rose beneath storm clouds. Soon the horizon would light up bright red and pink.
“I don’t know if I can live with myself like this,” she said, finally.
He raised his eyebrows, but didn’t protest her statement.
There was nothing he could do anyway. She would decide to either live or die. But he felt she needed to know the truth. The part they didn’t tell her.
“If you don’t, they’ll all die.”
“They’ll all die anyway,” she countered, “sooner or later.”
She looked away, not ready to greet another day.
It seems she has the power to postpose the inevitable for others–if she so chooses to use it.
I admire his calm patience and demeanor.
I don’t think she can decide whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing to postpone that inevitable. Thanks for dropping in Russell.
I got the feeling of a hopeless situation for her, but hope that she will do what is needed to save the others.
Thanks for reading Iain. It is kind of hard to tell which is the better choice for her, or the others. I suppose a lot depends on the rest of the story 😉
To me this could be a story that you tell a maiden to be slayed for sacrifice… maybe it’s not true after all.
That would be a good story for such a situation!
Very intriguing, so many questions in my mind. Well done.
Thank you 🙂 Thanks for dropping by!
Sometimes, life and other people just ask too much of a person. She sounds so tired. I wonder what sort of life took her to that point, where enough is just enough.
Precisely! Thanks for visiting my story, Magaly.
I’m curious to know what sort of power it is she holds.
Whatever the choices are, it seems to be overwhelmingly hard for her.
Dear E.W.
I was a little confused as to what her decision was supposed to be, although my guess was that if she dies they all live. But then the ending line made me question. Well written and evocative. I’m doing a happy dance to see you back in this neck of the woods. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
Hi Rochelle, not sure how often I’ll get to do it, but I’ve sure missed the FF crowd and hope to participate from time to time.
Poor woman, nothing is the right choice here, unless she really has power to save the world other than through ritual sacrifice. There’s a lot of story in these 100 words.
It’s not ritual sacrifice, but she feels backed into a corner of continuing what she considers to be a wrong to preserve a greater good and it’s wearing on her. Thanks for reading!
Oh!!! I’m too curious! What is she going to do???
I think she’s just going to come to terms with and do what needs to be done 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Just like the rest of us….