The image of the man’s face, covered in soot, eyes dazed, stuck in the boy’s mind. It seemed to hang over him, the way the cloud of smoke from the fire itself still lingered in the air.
He couldn’t imagine how the man made it out of the building, coughing on the acrid black smoke, lungs constricting as he struggled for every breath. But, now that he had, the boy wondered how the man would deal with the painful memories.
Oh, well, the boy sighed, I’ll find out tomorrow.
With that, he closed the book and replaced it on the shelf.
This is very good. I enjoy the idea of readers being caught up in a story.
Thank you. I do as well. Books are magical.
Hello Michele,
Clever, cliff-hanger! Piqued my curiosity; what plan did the protagonist have in mind for the next day? Well done.
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Wonderful twist great writing what a build up
Thank you so much. I’m glad my “tricks” were effective.
Loved the ending.
Thank you!
This reminds me of the short story, “The Lady or the Tiger?” If you don’t know the short story, look it up.
In Grader School we were assigned to write about what happened next; what door did he open? I wrote that nothing happened. The figure of the author’s imagination as well as the story ended.
Love this story Michele, very clever! I want to finish the novel the boy is reading!