In a Flash
Even the best laid plans go awry.
They say everything changes in a flash and plans go to waste, leaving you wondering how it all came to this. They’ll chase you to the ends of the earth for this. When they catch you they’ll want to know why.
Why did you do it?
For your son, of course. For his medication, his doctors, and just enough time to see his smile again. Only one thing in this world can stand a fighting chance at beating cancer: money. The doctors had already stolen enough from you, so what difference did it make if you took matters into your own hands?
At least that’s what you told yourself.
They say everything changes in a flash. What they don’t tell you about is the acrid taste that fills your mouth, the relentless ringing in your ears, the stinging smell of hot metal and smoke. Time stops only for a breath, and in that moment all else is rendered trivial, you know you’ve made a mistake.
Your only intent was to help your son. Your hand trembles and your knees buckle beneath you. It was only money you sought to steal. Now, you have stolen a life.
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Comments (15)
Oooo, there's definitely no coming back from that. Desperation and being forced into a corner leaves a person with no choice. Congratulations on your Top Story! I've subscribed to you!
The shock of the moment the narrator realizes their mistake is all I can feel at the end of this. Amazing storytelling here. I love the parallelism in "They say" to "What they don't tell you about." Very poetic and it creates a nice bridge to bring the emotional impact to its fullest peak. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Oh wow!!! The story already started out tragic in a way as I sympathized with them trying to care for their son, not getting the meds they needed but then it really turned tragic and so sad. Wow, great work putting so much emotion in this short piece. Congratulations on Top Story :)
wao. nicely done keep it up
Nice
Loads of lessons. For instance, people are fully in control of their actions and not the consequences
Oooooh boy. It was when I hit “relentless ringing in your ears” that I knew what had happened and my whole feeling just shifted. Well done.
Emotional, captivating, strong words. Good work.
Well done. Such an emotional tale in so few words. Well deserved Top Story 🎉
Excellent story-telling. Congrats on the top story.
You managed to fit so much grief and regret into only two hundred words. I am rendered speechless. <3
I very gripping piece of microfiction! Excellent work!!
That was really well done. Congrats on the TS
Oh my, this was very impressive. I am now a subscriber! Well done on packing so much into 200 words. Congrats too on your Top Story!
Wow! This is very emotional - in such a short word count. Welldone!