"Enter" A kind woman's voice said calmly. The door swung open and the man and his son walked in.
"Now just stay quiet and let dad handle this." the man said. They walked for what seemed like 20 minutes down winding hallway after winding hallway. Finally, they rounded another corner and the pair came face to face with a large man. He had to be at least 8 feet tall. He stood there in a hooded cloak, just staring at them.
"Who was this guy" the son thought to himself. "Why was he here?"
Suddenly he spoke. "Welcome 1014. I see you brought 1272."
"Yes sir, I did. He is ready." said the father.
"Good" the large man said. The large man turned and continued down the winding hallway as if to say "Follow me"
We walked for another 20 minutes or so and finally we came to another door. We entered without impediment this time and suddenly we stood in a dark room with a single bright light pointed at a chair in the center of the room.
"Come, son, have a seat." said the boy's father.
The son, trusting his father, hesitantly walked forward, and sat down.
“Son, today is the day I have been waiting for for a long time. Today is the day that you become a man.”
“What was he talking about? How could I suddenly become a man overnight?” thought the boy.
“Son, do remember when you were young and you would always ask me what my job was?”
“Yeah dad, I do.”
“And what is my job?”
“Dad, you are an accountant.”
“Well son, today I can tell you the truth….”
The boy’s heart was pumping. “What is my dad trying to tell me? Why would he lie to me all these years?” he thought.
“Son, I…”
“WAIT!!!!” A woman screams from somewhere beyond the confines of the room. “He is just a boy!”
The boy’s mother storms through the door and grabs her son.
“He is only 10 years old. We agreed we were going to wait till he is 18 so that he could make a mature decision. Come on, we are going home.”
She storms out dragging her son by the wrist.
“Well I guess we will try again next year.” The father sighs.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteCool story. You do a great job building tension, giving just enough info to keep us reading but holding back what we want to know. The fact that I'm frustrated by the fact that we don't get the answer - what does he do - is a good sign. Some dystopian themes running through here, a masquerade story (where the social status quo is just a guise, and the 'truth' is hidden from us) with numbered identities.
Kudos.
Best,
Andy