New fiction short-short The Last Words of William William cried to the world, “Why!” “Because it’s fair,” I told him. “It’s only fair.” “Well I don’t think it’s fair!” he screamed back at me. “What do you think your father would say if he saw you acting this way?” “I don’t care!” “Why?” “Because he doesn’t care, that’s why!” “Is that what you think?” I asked. “Is that why you think he’s no longer around?” “I know he doesn’t care,” William said in a slightly calmer voice. “He never cared, and that’s why he’s gone.” “Do you think his absence is your fault?” “No, I don’t. I think it was his stupid wife.” “Your mother?” “Do not call that woman my mother!” he cried out, his voice raising in pitch. “She wasn’t your mother?” “No. Absolutely not. My mother died when I was seven. That horrible creature came to live with us when I was ten. She was never my mother. Once Mama died, I no longer had a mother.” “What about your sister?” “Yes, she was my sister. My baby sister. She may have been born of that woman that came to live with us, but she was my sister.” “And you loved her?” I asked. “I loved her as much as anyone could love a sister.” “Do you think she’s at peace now?” “Yes, she is. Her and Daddy both are at peace.” William slumped down in the hard plastic chair and frowned. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. I had come to know the body language. He was done. He wouldn’t speak for at least another thirty minutes, and at that point my hour with him would be up. “William, you need to talk about this. You will not get another chance. I have only been here for fifteen minutes, and when my hour is up—“ “Go on then!” he screamed.as he started up from his seat. “Sit down,” I told him. “Sit down, or this is over right now.” He plopped back down in the chair, and I waved away the man at the door. “Listen to me, William. There isn’t much time left. In a little while, they will take you back. I will not be able to talk to you again. I will be outside, but they won’t let me see you again.” “Okay,” he huffed and blew a string of dirty blonde hair from his eyes. “So let’s start again. She wasn’t your mother?” I had asked him this question every day since I’d been assigned to him. He always answered the same way. “No, she wasn’t.” “But it lists her as your mother on your birth certificate. How can that be?” “I don’t know, but it’s wrong. They’re all wrong. She wasn’t my mother. Never my mother. Mama died when I was seven.” “And your father and your sister?” “I loved them both. I know Daddy didn’t care, but I still loved him I loved them, but that woman always got in the way.” “Is that why they’re gone? Why they’re all gone?” “They’re gone because they had to go. That’s all.” It was the same answer that William always gave me. All he would ever give me. I knew that this was it. It would be the last. I gathered up the papers in front of me and slid them all together into my briefcase. “I’m sorry,” I told him. “I’m sorry that it had to be this way.” The man from the doorway steeped in and nodded as I stood up from the hard plastic chair. I nodded back. “It’s time to go, Mr. Fisher,” the man from the doorway told me. “You sure you’re going to be there?” “Yes,” I told him. “Yes, I’ll be there. I promised William that I would.” “Yes, sir.” I turned back to William, waiting for one last reply. “Excuse me, Mr. Fisher,” the man from the door said. “We have to prepare the prisoner now.”
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 17:27:25 +0000
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