IN THAT MOMENT
JASON JACK
Copyright 2014
A SHORT BOOK
www.thejasonjack.com
a Walapie media publication
IN THAT MOMENT
Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights.
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher
Charles Frank watched the bus speed down the road toward the girl frolicking in the middle of the street. If he did nothing, the girl would die.
He could run to her and push her to safety, but then he would not escape the bus’ deadly impact. It was in this moment he had to weigh the consequences of an act of bravery versus remaining still and watching the girl in the red dress meet her end.
One powerful moment.
A flash of imagery shot through his head, a lightning bolt illuminating what would be. He imagined walking through the front door of his apartment with the food his wife asked him to get in hand while his one year old daughter cooed in her crib—
His daughter.
To save the girl ten feet in front of him meant giving up his daughter. The little girl he named Mona—after his own mother—would never know him. She would only recognize Charles as a foreign dark face, some picture in an album, someone who left her with a room full of stuffed animal rabbits because she was his little fluff ball.
He would not get to see her first step or send her off to college. He would not be there to console Mona after her first crush turned out to be a testosterone fueled punk. He would not be there to beat the boy’s ass for making his princess cry, either.
And his wife? His college sweetheart. Lauren.
The promise he made to grow old together would mean nothing. He would leave her a widow, a lonely heart with a child to raise. At least money would not be an issue. His recent promotion and insurance policy would ensure his family was financially stable for some time. It would be hard, but his wife would survive without him.
His wife.
In his thirty-three years he had never met another woman more beautiful than his Lauren. She was self conscious about everything, from her dimples to the freckles on her arm and how her cheeks turned bright red when she laughed. But he loved her because of those traits—he loved everything about Lauren for every second of the last fifteen years and he wanted to enjoy her for fifty, sixty, seventy years more. He wanted to grow old with his wife; he wanted to raise Mona together. Their daughter.
Daughter. The girl in the red dress was someone’s daughter, too.
The girl was no more than six years old with a smile on her face and a flower in her wavy, blonde hair. She must have straggled behind her parents as most carefree children do.
If Charles did nothing, she would die and her parents would grieve. They would think everything he thought about his very own Mona, haunted by ‘What would she have become?’. A feeling no parent should have to endure.
Every night, they would go into their daughter’s room careful to leave everything as it was, sit on her miniature bed adorned with her favorite stuffed animals, touching each one perhaps, and cry.
They would imagine how she would look in a prom dress, in her senior picture, and what career she would choose. They would wonder why they did not see their little girl trail behind. And they would wish that someone would have saved her.
In that moment, Charles knew he was that someone, but he did not want to leave Lauren and Mona alone. He knew he did not have to. He could stand still and that act alone would mean everything. And he could watch the little girl be taken from this world.
He would go home, hug his wife, kiss his daughter on the cheek, and know his decision was the best for his family then proceed to the bathroom where he would vomit until his throat was sore.
Every time he closed his eyes, he would see that little girl in her red dress as bright as it was today—as vibrant as his wife’s cheeks, something so beautiful the world could not do without.
The girl’s smile would haunt him from the moment he woke up until he rested his head for sleep, because he would always remember he let her die. A fact his conscious would not let him live with.
Lauren. Mona. The girl in the red dress.
Gone were the images that bombarded Charles’s vision, the bus did not stop, and the little girl was a moment away from her fate. That’s when Charles held his breath, making the worst decision of his life.
PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“LIFE OUTSIDE THE MANOR”
A Short Book
Maria Lavender was born a sickly girl. She did not have a choice in the matter, but she did not want to die without ever seeing the outside world. Even if it meant breaking her father’s heart.
. . .
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LIFE OUTSIDE THE MANOR,
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PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“GAMER, MURDERER”
A Short Book
Evan White held a crimson soaked knife in one hand while he pressed the fire button on the controller with his other.
. . .
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GAMER, MURDERER,
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PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“HUMANE CHILDREN SOCIETY”
A Short Book
By the time Donny Langston caught the ball thrown by Megan Courts, his best friend had already been stuffed into the back seat of an unmarked black car.
. . .
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HUMANE CHILDREN SOCIETY,
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PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“PLEASURE BUTTON”
A Short Book
Amy Stutter was having a horrible day. And she had only been awake for less than an hour.
. . .
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PLEASURE BUTTON,
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PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“THE SECOND LIFE OF TOMMY BRANDON”
A Short Book
Tommy Brandon was not like other people. He enjoyed endless walks barefooted, experienced life solely through his basic, primal urges, and ate flesh from sunup to sundown. For all intents and purposes, Tommy Brandon was dead. Or, should I clarify, un-dead.
. . .
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THE SECOND LIFE OF TOMMY BRANDON,
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PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“U.F.OTAKU”
A Short Book
The UFO hovered outside of Keiko Allstar’s window, shining a paralyzing blue light into the woman’s bedroom. The bookshelves along the walls shook, numerous model aircrafts fell from the ceiling, and stacks of manga piled around the room tipped over while the light sucked Keiko from bed and into the air. Staring at the ship pulling her in, she could only think of one word.
Finally.
. . .
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U.F.OTAKU,
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PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“MEMORY CARE”
A Short Book
“Damn you, Roy!” Connie McMorton bellowed, clenching the folds of her nightgown between her wrinkled, spotted fingers. “Damn you for everything you pu
t me through!”
. . .
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MEMORY CARE,
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PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“IN THAT MOMENT”
A Short Book
Charles Frank watched the bus speed down the road toward the girl frolicking in the middle of the street. If he did nothing, the girl would die.
. . .
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IN THAT MOMENT,
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PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“MONSTER IN THE WOODS”
A Short Book
Prince Dashing tossed what was left of Pinocchio—one cracked wooden arm—into his cabin’s fireplace.
The flames ravished the giant iron pot resting above, and the two children trapped inside the pot screamed. Their last screams.
. . .
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MONSTER IN THE WOODS,
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PREVIEW PARAGRAPH:
“LOST AND FOUND”
A Short Book
Where did I put the remote?
Sam Banks wondered, wandering around his living room, scratching his head.
. . .
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LOST AND FOUND,
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
I imagined something horrible.
I can still see the image in my head as clear as ever: A young girl stood in the street about to get hit by an approaching bus. And I’m, or a character of mine, is standing on the sidewalk watching this. Deep in his heart he knows he can save the child but he’ll die doing so. And it is in that moment when he’ll make a choice that will define the rest of his life.
I don’t know where I was when this heavy snapshot flashed in my mind, but it came to me with such rich emotion that I had to write down.
Some night later, I grabbed my purple, three ringed notebook and poured Charles Frank and the girl’s biographies on the paper, their stories flowing out of my pen: Charles worked as a head assembly worker at an automated factory and just received a promotion; the little girl was six with thin arms and legs.
And one of them was going to die.
What would any person do in a situation like this? Charles was just coming home from buying taco mix his wife had asked him to run to the grocery store to buy. The child and her parents were crossing the street to get to their car or maybe to grab a bite to eat. These are everyday activities altered by a life changing scenario. And if or when it happens? Well, what do we do when we have to choose our life or another’s?
I guess I’ll leave the answer to you, readers. What would you do? I have an inkling of what I’d do—I’d write a story about it.
In That Moment took me a week to write and edit. My Super Peer Group of editors gave me feedback. While I waited for their input, I created a glorious front cover (the cover gave me more trouble than the writing!). I really enjoyed this piece, however, and it holds up with every read. I hope it provokes as much introspection to you as it did for me.
—JJ
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
From Jason Jack:
My published works include over a dozen short stories, humor books, interactive books for children, and interactive books for the whole family.
I am also the founder of the California based creative guild, Walapie Media, and I write non-fiction under the pen name, Reedmoor Books.
Thank you for selecting this story, and I hope you continue enjoying my work!
For more information about me and my craft, please visit the following websites.
www.walapie.wordpress.com
www.thejasonjack.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you, Arian Cato, for editing this story and for accepting it in for inclusion in the literary publication, Brev Spread.
And as always, a special thanks to you, Anamarie, my darling, for putting this short story through the wringer!
MORE FROM JASON JACK
SHORT STORIES
Memory Care
Pleasure Button
U.F.Otaku
Monster in the Woods
Humane Children Society
Lost and Found
COLLECTIONS
Read My Shorts! v 1
Unrequited (Poems in Spite of the Heart)
HUMOR
Rejected Fortune Cookie Fortunes
100 Things Your Parents Told You As A Kid
CHILDREN
You Draw the Adventure Series
MORE BOOKS FROM WALAPIE MEDIA
Big Blank Sudoku Grids
Boo-Yah! Hangman Series
Tic Tac Toe (Big Book of Blank Games)
www.walapie.wordpress.com
WEB LINKS
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND AFFILIATES:
www.walapie.wordpress.com
www.thejasonjack.com
www.youdrawtheadventure.com
www.firstlinefirst.wordpress.com
TWITTER:
twitter.com/The_Jason_Jack
FACEBOOK:
www.facebook.com/TheJasonJack
I NEED YOUR HELP, FRIENDLY READER
If you've enjoyed what you've read, please take the time out to review this book wherever you please.
Positive reviews go a great way in allowing an author like me to keep writing even more fun works!
Thank you!
-Jason Jack