By Shannon McPherson
Emma glanced down at the meter on her wrist, tracing her finger over the ‘000004’ that glowed neon green, even when awash in the morning sunlight. Her mother always said she’d regret being one of those quick talkers, wasting words instead of cherishing each syllable as it flowed swiftly from her lips.
Now she’d reached her lifetime allotment: only four more words for the rest of her life. At age twenty five, that seemed unfathomable.
The man in front of her cleared his throat, growing tired of waiting for her.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes,” Emma said. “Pull the trigger.”
I liked this story very much–A great twist at the end
This story really lingered nicely in my mind afterwards. Great twist.
This is excellent! Few words, lots of images and feelings for me. Very Atwoodish.
Ah! This is really cool!
Loved this, it had me wondering immediately, what words would she choose,and the the twist. Perfect.
Great story! Congrats on the winning Issue 9!