Saturday's Storyteller: "Her response was only one word."
by Belinda Roddie
Her response was only one word. It was quick, a jolt, a tap, a pinch. I hardly felt the sting. A bug's bite on a fleshy flank, nibbling at my nerves.
I expected that word for quite some time, even as we ate our waffles and drank cold, black coffee in the stitled June sun that scratched at the glass. Our tongues felt stiff from the thick syrup and our lips chapped from the summer cruelty. But I knew she'd have to say it.
I had asked if she would stay with me, forever. Forever eating waffles and watching TV and reading tattered magazines saved from the 1990s. Forever lost in a pained nostalgia. Her answer slipped.
"Never."
This week's prompt was provided by Ray Nelson.
Her response was only one word. It was quick, a jolt, a tap, a pinch. I hardly felt the sting. A bug's bite on a fleshy flank, nibbling at my nerves.
I expected that word for quite some time, even as we ate our waffles and drank cold, black coffee in the stitled June sun that scratched at the glass. Our tongues felt stiff from the thick syrup and our lips chapped from the summer cruelty. But I knew she'd have to say it.
I had asked if she would stay with me, forever. Forever eating waffles and watching TV and reading tattered magazines saved from the 1990s. Forever lost in a pained nostalgia. Her answer slipped.
"Never."
This week's prompt was provided by Ray Nelson.
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