Mercy


by John Sheirer


Daphne knew Kenneth wouldn’t want to go on without her after forty-three years of marriage. So when she got her terminal diagnosis, she poisoned his dinner. Daphne cradled Kenneth’s head as he lay on the dining room floor and breathed his last. She dialed, stroked his hair, and explained it all to the emergency operator. Just then, Kenneth’s hand, still strong as his life waned away, grabbed Daphne’s shoulder and drew her shocked face close to his.


“You … did this?” Kenneth mumbled.


“Yes,” Daphne replied.


Kenneth spoke his last words as he pulled her into a final embrace: “Thank you.” 

 

John was the first to enter the 100-word challenge within a few minutes of my request for stories.






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