Follow Me  on my Socials
  Kenneth Lawson
  • Kenneth Lawson Home
  • Story Index
  • About
  • Contact The Author
  • Science Fiction Stories
  • Detective & Crime Stories
  • Odd & Unusual Stories
  • Time Travel Stories
  • The Writing Life
  • Thrillers
  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • 500 Words
  • Family Ties

November 21st, 2021

11/21/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Another rainy day in the big city, and I’ve had enough gloom. It was high time I left this big city. But I knew I couldn’t go without seeing her again.

I braved the storm and headed to the city’s east side, where the highflyers and fancy folks lived. Her father was a highflyer of the highest order. A captain of industry and leader among leaders, at least that is what most people thought of him. 

I knew better. He thought no one was going to be good enough for his little girl. Maybe, he was right, as most of the kids she brought home before were spoiled little brats that never had to work for anything. 

I was his chauffeur’s kid and had helped my dad with the family’s cars since I could walk. I knew those cars inside out, almost as well as my father. When I became old enough to obtain a chauffeur’s license, I started driving for the family. 

 I grew up with Emma Sands and drove her on many dates. To Emma, I was just one of those always just the driver until one night when one of her dates stood her up. Jokingly, I volunteered to go in his place. She said yes. After that, we became more than a family member and employee and started seeing her when her father was out of town. We both knew he would never permit her to see a lowly chauffer’s son.

Eventually, her father found out, as we were not as careful as we should have been. Her father was furious, and my father decided to resign in disgrace. I talked him out of it—I resigned.

Time to tell Emma I decided to leave. I knocked on the front door.

 Emma greeted me, and I knew the second I saw her that I couldn’t leave. We kissed just as her father walked in.

 “Dad.” Emma turned toward her father, somewhat embarrassed as I stepped back from her, still holding her hand.

“Emma, I told you to stay away from him.” He pointed at me, his hands shaking with rage.

“Sir!” I took a deep breath and stood face to face with him. 

“I’ve known you for decades. I grew up here on the estate, drove every car you have, and even fixed many of them. As far as I know, I’ve never done anything to bring you shame or displeasure—until now, it seems. Emma and I grew up together. You watched us. She has always done what you asked her to do., all the fancy schools, and parties where you thought it was proper and she would meet the right guy. The guy you approved of for her. But...,” I hesitated a second, catching my breath and thinking for a second. “She’s well past the age you can tell what to do. She’s made up her mind, and she’s leaving with me.” 

We stood together holding hands, Emma not leaving my side. 

Brighton Sands, captain of Industry, then said something I wasn’t expecting. “Yes, she is. She can go, and you’re more than welcome here anytime.” 

He stuck out his hand. I reached for it, unsure what was happening.

He grinned. “You passed the test. You stood up to me and told me to go to hell. You’ll do just fine.
”

0 Comments

November 14th, 2021

11/14/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
​After the events of last night, I needed coffee—lots of coffee. It couldn’t have been, but it was. He was alive and well. Looking back, well might be a relative term for someone dead for over forty years.

 I was a founding member of the board of trustees that ran his estate and had free run of the estate. I know all the back halls and places even the tour guides didn’t know. When things were hopping here, I snuck girls in through the secret passages back in the day. I found him in part of the house where he could come and go without being seen.

Sitting down the fifth cup of coffee, I turned on my chair and leaned back. How, you may ask did I know it was him and not some impostor?

 It’s simple. I knew him back in Tupelo. Yeah, I’m that old. I’m one of the only ones left from back in the early days. It was him. He knew me and called me by my name, and we swapped stories about the old days.

What, you ask? Why didn’t I take a picture? I sipped on my coffee and thought for a minute.

There was a simple answer. Hell, the fact is, I didn’t think of it, and now I’m glad I didn’t. The world doesn’t need another picture of him—especially this version of him. He’s forever young and handsome in the world’s eyes, not old and bent, and barely able to walk. All he wants is to be alone.

Yeah, Elvis is alive. Let’s let him rest in peace.

0 Comments

November 07th, 2021

11/7/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

Johan stared at the midnight sky, sensing that the universe beckoned him home. He’d been away far too long. Maybe it was time to go home before it he forgot completely.

His superiors in the Alliance assigned him to broker peace between two warring planets, and he succeeded—publicly. He became clear that neither planet had an interest in substantial talks and little desire for peace. Johan decided that the best he could accomplish was to broker an extension of the truce he secured at the beginning of negotiations. 

On the surface, everyone behaved and said all the right things. However, behind closed doors, they were still threatened war. They had only agreed to the truce to keep the public and press away from the truth.

The reports that he sent to his superiors indicated the truce was stable. The summits on the largest moon around one planet had been well-publicized, and the press reacted to the resulting press conference and the brokered truce as he hoped. After all, he had orchestrated everything. 

It had been fun leading the press around by the nose, but time was up, and the truce wouldn’t last forever. He wanted off the planet before the warring worlds stopped pretending.

Johan slipped out of his hotel room and made his way to where he had hidden a small ship that would take him to a small moon where he had placed a jump platform to transport him to his home planet. Part of him didn’t want to leave, as he had allowed a woman to capture his heart. Esper, the wife of a diplomat who had tried to broker peace but had been accused of conspiracy, banned from the talks. and then disappeared, and Johan suspected foul play. He had spent a lot of time with Esper, and they had grown close—too close. He would miss her.

He was about to close the hatch and engage the engines when he noticed a figure standing outside the ship. Johan opened the hatch door to see who it was. It was Esper.

“You’re leaving?”  

He climbed out of the hatch. “I have to go. I’ve done all I can do here. You know that.”

 “But you promised you’d take me with you.”

“I know, but I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Esper, it’s too risky. The atmosphere you breathe is too complex and difficult to recreate using the breathing pods. The last time you left the planet, you nearly died.”

She nodded, dropping her head and toying with the breathing pods dangling in her hands.

Johan grasped her shoulders. “I would give anything to take you with me. You shouldn’t be here when….” He let it tail off as they both knew what would happen to here. He made up his mind.

He took the breathing pods from her hands. “Esper, would you rather die here accused of collusion with your husband or risk possible death with me?”

“I want to be with you.”

He slipped the pods over her head and adjusted the tips underneath her nostrils. “Esper, come with me. The first stop after we arrive at my planet will be to the Engineering Institute to fix these so that you live.”

0 Comments
    Picture


    500 Words
      The idea is to write a short story  about 500 max short based on a picture and an opening line.  
    ​From there one can go ANYWHERE..
    ​
    Please note: the images used are free-use images and do not require attribution.

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.