For
A to Z 2015 I will be posting flash fiction, all random, all the crazy musings
of a crazy mind. Hope you like them.
B is for Beyond
“Are you aware of the
risk you’re taking?”
The woman nodded,
eyes cast down to the floor. She knew well the risks; better than anyone.
As the minutes
lengthened she turned and left. She knew she would never get his blessing; his
silence was the most she could hope for, and all that she got.
No
matter, she thought to herself. I didn’t need him.
But that was a lie
and she knew it; no one went to the outer rim and returned. Everyone knew that.
She could’ve used him.
The desert lay open
before her, ending at the end. She made her way towards it.
That night as the
suns sank into the abyss, it was closer; she was closer. She knew it wouldn’t be
long now. Soon she would find her son, or join him. Either way, she would know.
A figure moved in the
distance. The woman lifted her hand to shade her eyes. She’d heard mirages were
common. There were those who had almost and then returned. That was her hope
for her son, for her.
But like her hope,
the mirage faded. Deep inside she was not surprised. She knew her son; she knew
he would not be of those who would turn back. If he meant to go, he would be
gone.
The knowledge she had
been searching for filled her: Her son was gone, truly he was; if he wasn’t he
would have come to stop her. If he was there, he would’ve wanted her to go on,
to live.
With her frame
straight and her legs strong, the woman turned to go back to the village, full
of all the hope and despair due her.
-Mel