MicroFiction
As the old man drove, he smiled. He glanced over at the boy who had long ago become a man. They pulled off the main road and he pulled the Jeep to their spot. He glanced into back seat and saw the case.
The old man smiled again.
#wss366 #MicroFiction
They were in the old man’s Jeep and pulled up to the squawk box, “Two large fries and two chocolate shakes. And yes, that completes my #order.” (He grinned as he said the last bit.)
“Sorry sir, the ice cream machine is broken.”
“Again?”
“So just two fries?”
“And Cokes.”
#ws366 #MicroFiction
He thumped down the steps to the basement and began frantically searching the boxes. His body started getting hot and the sweat began to bead on his forehead. He slumped next the post and felt the cold concrete floor. Then his mind drifted to the final #drive with the old man.
#wss366 #MicroFiction
He moved past her like he was in a #trance. His mind was spinning. The words would be all wrong if he tried to talk. If only he could put his hands on that book. It was the book his father had given to him all those years ago. It would have the words.
#wss366 #MicroFiction
It was though he was looking through her. She knew him almost as well as he knew himself. From the moment they had met their souls had fit together like hand and #glove. No matter the decision, there was no doubt in her mind they would walk through the storm together.
#ws366 #MicroFiction
How could something so #simple be so difficult? All that had to be done was to say the words. Those words were stuck in his throat like saltines on a hot day.
#wss366 #MicroFiction
As the screen door slammed shut behind him an #eerie calm swept through him. A decision made, though life-changing, brought it’s own kind of relief. There was nothing to do now but move forward. He lifted his eyes from his feet and there she was, waiting for him.
#wss366 #MicroFiction
There was a #twang of guilt as he opened the door and walked back into the house she had made a home. There was no turning back at this point, the decision had been made. After this conversation, nothing would ever be the same.
#wss366 #MicroFiction
He inhaled the fresh evening air, tapped out his pipe, and turned on his heel. At the moment their eyes briefly met and neither were #dry. The tears that fell weren’t the kind coming from an inconsolable grief, but those that fell when there is a reconciliation with reality. #wss366 #MicroFiction
She looked through her reflection out of the window and watched him pace. The decision to be made was his and his alone. Truth is both #ugly and beautiful. There is nothing more difficult than standing in the tension of the two. She wondered, could he hold the tension or not?
#wss366 #MicroFiction
Now more than ever he wished the old man was still around. If anyone would know how to #caress the words needed it would have been him. These days, more than any others, the loss of the old man was like a chasm in his soul.
#wss366 #MicroFiction
He took a draw from the pipe and felt the slight burn of the smoke through his nostrils. His stare was fixed on the large oak tree. There was a single leaf gently fluttering in the breeze. A deep knowing that he was to become both a #vessel of joy and pain was overwhelming.
#wss366 #MicroFiction
He stood and walked to the railing of the porch as the sun dipped below the trees. Knowing that the decision was inevitable irritated his soul like a #blister. While this moment was imbued with peace the coming moments would not be. #wss366 #MicroFiction
Even in the moment of peace, as he rocked slowly, the #weight of the decision was ever present. He tried to be fully aware of the moment. The focus of his attention was on the heat from the bowl of his pipe and sound of his own breathing.
#MicroFiction #wss366
His stubbled face and steel blue eyes revealed a deep knowing. His hands were calloused. The #smoke from his pipe drifted gently off against the setting sun. The only sound was the creak from the loose deck board beneath his rocking chair.
At that moment all was peace.
#wss366 #MicroFiction
