By Hugh Cartwright
“She cannot recover,” they say gently.
I won’t admit that the doctors could be right.
Sometimes my daughter suddenly opens her eyes and stares deep into my face. Then I kiss her, my tears splashing her cheeks, soaking her hair.
“She is not there,” the doctors say. “You must let her go.”
I don’t hear that. Cannot accept it.
I fight on.
Finally, the courts say she will die. Must die. I am exhausted, beaten, defeated.
Each day I burst with love for my daughter. Each night I despair that a drunk driver took her life.
That I took her life.
Chilling ending.
Horrifying twist. Tragic tale. Well done!
Thank you Liz.
Very moving……
Thank you; I’m grateful for your comment.
Dark, nice hook, good twist.
Straight shot to the heart and tear ducts!! Well written.
Excellent story, Hugh. Well done.
I had to read it twice to understand the comments as I saw the ending a different way. Great story. Very moving.
Took a minute to sink in. Really great ending.
Oh wow. Very powerful. A compelling ending that surprises and sends us back to read it again with a different level of understanding. Well done!
Try to avoid shallow and cheap tricks for effect. You can do better, I’m sure.
Thanks for the comment. The ending was constructed neither as a trick, nor meant to be shallow; that was just how the story evolved. I agree that stories that set out to misdirect the reader rarely work; I’m sorry that you found this one unconvincing.
Hugh
You can do better with commenting g. I’m sure. And how many stories have you published? How many books sold? Never heard of a Jacquier in the industry….keyboard warrior…losers always want to bring someone else down.
Gulp. So much weight to bear.
Tearful, painful and shocking.
Good piece, nicely written
Loved this story. Great way to end.
Oh wow that got me?
Tearing up, very powerful