💯 STORY CHALLENGE — ROUND 2
The Sleep of the Innocent
Story 8 of 💯: She sleeps, and he worries about their future together. He worries about what the dawn will bring.
Like every night lately, he stands over her bed, a pillow in his hands, looking down at her sleeping the sleep of the innocent. A light snore is the only sound to be heard as he contemplates his next action. He knows what must be done, but he dreads the consequences. He dreads the loneliness. The emptiness. The consequences.
But he must make a change. He can’t live this way anymore. The toll is too steep for his psyche.
A nursing home would be the right answer, if only he could find one with some quality of life attached to its reputation. Too many lack of care scandals. Too many unexplained deaths, and too few beds available. And the cost, now neither have heath benefits.
Perhaps a live in personal support worker would help, but the expense is too high. This is the only way, he tells himself, the only way.
Witha start, she wakes up and sees him standing over him. A smile plays at her lips, even though it has been a long time since she knew who he was. She recognizes him as her guardian angel, standing watch over her.
A tear rolls down his cheek as he settles the fresh pillow under her head. He tucks her in, making sure she’s comfortable. With a quick kiss to her forehead, he turns off the light and closes the door.
He shuffles back to the couch, where he has taken to sleeping. He crawls under his comforter and curls up into a ball, as he quietly weeps himself to sleep.
Welcome to my second round in the 💯 Story Challenge. Life is throwing too many challenges these days to write anything longer, but I’m going to write 💯 stories of at least 250 words, and I plan to publish one daily.
Rocky Shores may have had a few too many double espressos and double Irish Creams when he wrote this, but those are what fuels his vivid imagination.
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Read another of his stories here.