Like my previous #ThinkCreative writing prompts, I have written a story of 300 words or less. However, to make things even more interesting and expand my creativity, I looked up one-line opening sentences to start the story.

This is the one liner I chose: “Help me! I’m not your enemy,” he said.

Without further ado, here is my story:

THE HARD TRUTH by Jasmine Sayles

“Help me! I’m not your enemy,” he said.

“I can’t help you. You can’t even help yourself,” I said as I slowly walked backwards along the gravel road, the moon piercing over me.

“I just need more time,” he rubbed his face.

“I JUST NEED MORE TIME!” I thought as anger boiled inside of me.

“YOU DIDN’T NEED MORE TIME WHEN YOU CHEATED ON ME THE FIRST TIME, THE SECOND TIME OR THE THIRD TIME,” I spewed.

My feet felt like they were one with the gravel as I stomped them as hard as humanly possible for a decently athletic thirty-year-old woman and collapsed into the ground.  

I breathed a deep breath and covered my face with the palms of my hands as I cried a full stream. Once I felt like my head would explode and my eyes were as red as a fresh strawberry, I got up and turned facing my car just a few feet away. I refused to look back, so I never got a long last look at Kenneth, but I doubt that would have made anything better.

He never said a word to me after that sad, cold night. I can’t say I don’t think about him still, and I haven’t gotten the courage to throw away our old memory box of photos. You don’t just date someone for a year and get over it in a month.

But my mom didn’t name me Faith for any old reason. I wish she was still on earth to just hold me and tell me everything’s going to work out, but she isn’t. I must be content with who I am all by myself, and that’s scary.

That’s the hard truth that no one, not even a grown woman like myself, wants to deal with.  

-Jas