“The future outwits all our certitudes”

[talon]

The first time was on my birthday, five years ago. Amber had just left me alone for a moment after a lovely day, full of friends and celebration, and I was sitting on our back porch, about to go up after her - a wife who says "I'll be waiting," is an invitation that I had every inclination of accepting. Joshua was already fast asleep, having been

Comments

[rattsu]

Loved it, but I have to ask. Is Charles and Chris the same person? I was a bit confused there.

[talon]

Oops - this is apparently what happens when I vacillate on names. It should all be Chris :P

*waves magic wand*

[rattsu]

I know the feeling :)

The worst bit is when you have spelled the name slightly wrong in one place, and then when you do a search and replace that one lingers...

[i_17bingo]

No, the worst thing is when you're paid to edit the book, and you don't know which one the author wants to go with.

[i_17bingo]

But I also saw that immediately after she looked at Joshua, she looked up - not at me, beside her, with her, but at Chris.

Oh. Hell.

The mystery of the visions/time-travels was really getting under my skin, but when this happened.

Damn.

I wonder who was responsible for what he saw. I wonder what the purpose of that was. But that question is for another time, because... wow. That revelation...

[talon]

Thank you for reading, and for the kind words, as always! :)

[lrig_rorrim]

I like that this is open-ended - you don't know if the narrator's come to the right conclusion, you don't know if he's just grasping for meaning to explain this weird thing that keeps happening to him, you don't know why or how this weird thing keeps happening to him.

I wonder how long that love will hold out with all those doubts and uncertainties in play, especially unspoken...

[talon]

I thought it was the right place to end it - a reveal, but without the long expository finish. It's a short story, after all ;) I'm glad that you liked it!

[suesniffsglue]

This was, to me, a perfect embodiment of this prompt. Great work!

[talon]

Thank you, very much!

[jem0000000]

What a difficult situation. Poor narrator.

[talon]

Turns out knowing more isn't always good. And yet, it doesn't erase what is. A difficult choice, indeed. Thanks, Jem :)