Well, I wasn’t dialed in.

I entered a micro fiction contest where I, for some dumb reason, thought I had 48 hours to submit, when in actuality I had 24 hours… Sitting here all proud of myself for getting ready to submit early, when I had already missed the deadline…and damn it, I had it written in time!! It was right there in front of my face…I just blew it.

I’ll blame 2020.

So, to not let it go to waste, I’ll post it here.

The contest is sponsored by @nycmidnight in case you ever want to enter a fun contest.

The assigned genre was: HISTORICAL FICTION. It had to have the word DANGER incorporated. It had to have the action of CROSSING A FINISH LINE. 250 word limit.

Twin Souls

Since their conception, the twins had been inseparable. Though the girls were competitive, they’d supported each other and relied on each other’s strengths to get through life. They hadn’t lived dangerously, but they had lived boldly. At sixteen, they’d marched as suffragettes through the streets of San Francisco. They’d roared through the 1920s and bet on who would marry first. They defied prohibition and worked tirelessly, side-by-side through the Depression. They’d consoled each other through miscarriages and the loss of one of their husbands. They were each other’s pillar when they sent their sons to the second Great War.

But this. Liz wasn’t sure she could take this. Their boys were home safe, however Beth was gravely ill. Liz held her twin’s hand and pleaded with her not to give up. Pleaded with her that it was too soon. They still had so much to see and do. She’d just ordered a color TV, for Christ’s sake. Grand babies were due soon. 

“I’m going to beat you,” Beth whispered through dry lips. “Over the finish line of life. You may have been first born, but I’m going to leave first. I’ll be waiting for you, dear sister.”

“This isn’t a race,” Liz said. “I need you here. I’m not me without you.”

Beth gave Liz’s hand one last squeeze and whispered their childhood mantra, “Me and you. You and me. Together forever, twin souls are we.”

Liz wept when Beth let go and won the one competition they couldn’t aviod.