Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Chan has to tell his younger siblings that their parents have died, the hardest thing he's ever had to do. How will he handle this? Good thing he has Evan by his side. See what's going on in this week's chapter of Super Trooper. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Chan swallowed. And then he took a deep breath.
Evan’s hand at the base of his spine was a source of great comfort, as well as
giving him the confidence to do what had to be done. He wasn’t surprised that
his sister had surmised something was wrong. He must look terrible. He would
have to try harder, if he wanted to keep her from falling apart. Laksha was
very mature for her age. Already a young woman in many ways. Even so, this would
not be easy for her.
He took a seat facing Laksha on the sofa, and felt
Evan drop down beside him. He took her
hands in his own, his eyes locked on hers. He could see unease there, maybe
even the beginning of panic. He squeezed her hands gently, to help keep her
focused.
“Laksha, listen to me, please. I have to tell you
something, and it’s not going to be easy, but please… please…” For a moment he
blanked. Where was he going with that thought? Please don’t get upset? An
impossible request. Please don’t worry? More reasonable, yet still not right.
“Please remember that I love you,” he finally
concluded.
“Chan, if you’re trying to scare me, I don’t think
that’s very nice of you,” Laksha said, glancing between him and Evan, who
remained silent. “Is something wrong with you? Are you ill? Please tell me
you’re not dying?”
“What? Oh no,
no, no,” he hastily reassured her. He hadn’t expected her to jump to such a
conclusion, but then again, he hadn’t given her much else to work from, either.
“It’s not me, it’s Maa and Pita… there’s been an accident… “
Laksha’s eyes widened. “An accident? You mean, like
a car accident? Are they hurt? Where are they, Chan?” She began to rise as if
she intended to find them, wherever they were, tried to shake off his hands.
But he held tight until she reluctantly resumed her seat.
“Yes, a car accident. A very bad one.” Chan felt the
tears he hadn’t shed gathering. He struggled to maintain his composure, for his
sister’s sake. “Laksha, I-I…. Th-they….” He took another deep breath. “I’m
afraid they were hurt very badly. Too badly. The doctor said it was very quick,
they didn’t suffer.”
Laksha attempted again to pull her hands away from
his grip, her dark brows drawn down in anger. “Chan, that’s not funny. Don’t
say something like that. If this is a joke, it’s in bad taste… I’m going to
tell our mother and she’ll give you a piece of her mind for being so horrible…”
But even as she said this, he could see her dawning
comprehension, even as her face screwed up and she launched herself at him,
hitting his chest with her closed fists.
“No, no, no, you lie, you lie, you lie….” Her voice
rose, becoming shriller.
Chan wrapped his arms around her and held her while
she ineffectively flailed at him. “It’s all right, it’s going to be all right,”
he murmured, tears raining down his cheeks. He could feel Evan’s hand stroking
his back, lending him strength. Still, he’d never felt so helpless in his life.
Eventually, his sister stopped struggling against him, her slender frame
shaking as she sobbed into his bosom.
“Hey, you wanna wake Madhu?” Kamal burst into the
room. He was dressed in superhero pajamas, his phone in his hand. He looked at
Chan in confusion, scratched at his head. “What’s going on? Chan, what are you
guys doing here? Laksha, why are you crying? Are you hurt?” He rushed to her
side, glaring at Evan for good measure, as if he suspected somehow he had
caused his sister’s tears.
At Kamal’s entrance, Laksha’s sobbing lessened as
she struggled to get her breathing under control, for her little brother’s
sake. She pulled back from Chan, turning toward Kamal.
“Kamal, come here.” She scooted back and patted the
couch with one hand, while wiping at her cheeks with the other, sniffling. He
seemed reluctant, but finally took a seat, casting uneasy glances between her
and Chan. Chan’s heart broke all over again.
“What’s going on?” Kamal repeated warily.
Laksha put her arms around him. “There’s been an
accident. Maa and Pita…” Her voice broken.
“Tell me, Chan,” Kamal demanded. For a moment, Chan
thought he might throw off his sister’s embrace, but he made no move to do so.
As Chan repeated the story he’d told their sister,
he watched the little boy’s world shatter into a million pieces… and there was
nothing he could do about it.
to be continued
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