UNALIVE - 32 100-Word Drabbles *1* *2* *3* *4* *5* *1* When labor had to be induced two weeks after the due date had passed, Benni and Eliza were well entertained that their child would be born on Halloween, their favorite holiday. "Imagine the nicknames," Eliza had joked. Benni had planned ahead for this eventuality by purchasing an infant-sized skeleton costume for their impending bundle. Yet Fate was unkind and not amused by their joy. Medical intervention caused unforeseen problems and labor failed to progress, though mother and babe suffered for hours. Benni cried, "Elle, don't leave me!" as his wife's heart failed. Doctors were too late to save the baby. *2* Brokenhearted, Benni had begged the doctors to try again, to try harder. There had to be something more they could do… As compassionately as possible, they insisted that his family was beyond saving. He contemplated suicide. He had no wish to live without reason, and as it turned out, his wife and unborn daughter were his reason to be. Had been; past tense. Benni wondered if he was beyond saving, too. Unable to confront the idea of a life without his beloved Elle and the child they'd so dearly wanted (he'd named her Gwendolyn), Benni made plans to join them. *3* It was Halloween and Death was busy. All who'd died in the past year were eager to enjoy their last night on Earth before moving along. They were getting up to quite a lot of mischief; one soul, especially so, though she hardly seemed in the holiday spirit. Death explained. "This year's Haunting ends at midnight, and a new one begins the moment after. It's Tradition. I'm sorry you didn't have long to Haunt your beloved, but there's a little time left. Make the most of it." "Fuck Tradition," Eliza said, holding her baby ghost close. "We're not leaving Benni." *4* That night, Benni planned a beautiful funeral for his family; his whole family. He intended to be buried beside them. Halloween wasn't quite over. It would be days before the event; still, he wasted no time. Benni wanted to live as few hours as possible in the absence of his Elle and little Gwen. Meanwhile, Eliza met Fate for the second time. Fate insisted, "I ended you, it's over," but her victim blew her off. "Do you really believe you can continue by sheer will alone?" "If we must." The mother's tone threatened violence to any who imagined she'd fail. *5* Fate complained, "They're getting away!" but Death was, by nature, the patient sort. It could afford to wait until the dead were willing to move along. Cradling her child's tiny spirit in her spectral arms, Eliza found herself back at the morgue. Their bodies were cold and rigid, and Elle struggled to reanimate them. Little Gwen's ghost kept leaving her corpse, and wailing for want of contact, while her mother beat back rigor mortis with her ardent desire to not be dead. In the end, only Eliza inhabited a body; stillborn Gwendolyn had never possessed a will to live. MORE COMING SOON! Back to the Sandyplex | Back to K's page | Back to SubverttheSpace