When She Was in Danger

 

I wanted to be brave.

Not like heroes in fairy tales.

Not like that.

Just an ordinary courage that snuck in the drafty front window in our kitchen and found me in the midst of calamity.

But I froze. Mind blank.

For all the bravery I thought I possessed, that I claimed I would have, should the moment arise, I failed.

Whether it dissipated when need barked at it or I never had it to begin with, I was frozen in a time when she couldn’t respond and I wear that coldness like a lead vest. My badge of dishonor.

 

Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch 

May 14, prompt: Danger – In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that answers the question, “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you are in absolute danger?”