| General Flash Fiction posted July 13, 2021 |
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A story about guilt
Oblivion
by J. P. Olesen
What you dreaded for years eventually happened. Dad had fallen in memory care, breaking like antique glass.
He would spend the rest of his life totally disoriented, bedridden, and in pain. So, you murdered him, legally, by rejecting the prescribed feeding tube. "Power of attorney," with no useful medical directives, was yours.
Meanwhile, between his morphine injections--you lied--caressing his forehead and whispering, "Try to relax, Dad, everything's gonna be okay."
He died the morning after his transfer to hospice, holding your infirm mother's hand. And you, each year on the date of his passing, drink yourself into . . . oblivion.
He would spend the rest of his life totally disoriented, bedridden, and in pain. So, you murdered him, legally, by rejecting the prescribed feeding tube. "Power of attorney," with no useful medical directives, was yours.
Meanwhile, between his morphine injections--you lied--caressing his forehead and whispering, "Try to relax, Dad, everything's gonna be okay."
He died the morning after his transfer to hospice, holding your infirm mother's hand. And you, each year on the date of his passing, drink yourself into . . . oblivion.
100 Word Flash Fiction contest entry
 Recognized |
#11 July 2021 |
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