206 — One Word Said It All

He had tried. He loved her, but he knew something was wrong. Her message was said in a whisper, meant just for him.

She used a word that wandered many paths. There were many forks in its linguistic road. Depending on intent, he knew he was either going to be "all in" or on the way out. He had always hung on her every word, but this one was challenging.

And terrifying.

She said it with no inflection. It was neither a long word, nor too short to take seriously. Her word was direct, yet undecipherable. Definitive, but open-ended.

Nevertheless, it stated his future with her--both long term as well as immediate. It would determine whether he would be in or out, over or under; above or below; invited again or summarily dismissed.

This word she used was the one that strikes fear in all men.

It was scarier than "divorce." It was more emotional than "yes," and it was more final than "no." It was tentative, and the ball was in his court for the final three seconds of the game between them. The score clock was ticking.

He approached. Hopefully the moments that had passed had allowed her to reconsider. But it wasn't to be. He stood at the bedside and waited to see what else she would say. Laying on the bed, however, she just looked at him and said it again.

It was her summation of their goings-on, a review of how well he had provided for her. It could, perhaps, be the entire Wikipedia entry for their relationship. It was one-sided yet multi-faceted.

Once he heard this one word he could not un-hear it. Or un-feel it.

Perhaps he could rise to the occasion to make it go away; or perhaps just its mention precluded any chance for a second chance. How many more chances would he get — now or in the future? Or even tonight.

It was a word demanding either remedy or shame. Victory or defeat. It required an answer of action, not excuses. Laying naked on the bed, expectantly, she repeated it for the third time: "unsatisfied."

Salvation came in four more words: "The night is young."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

For Wednesday, July 24, Day 206 of the 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge

366 WORDS (without A/N)

Title-accompaniment photo was AI-generated but the word choice was not.

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THE CHALLENGE GRINDS ON, 366 WORDS AT A TIME:

There are currently three surviving Vocal writers still participating in the insane 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge:

• L.C. Schäfer, challenge originator

• Rachel Deeming

• Gerard DiLeo (some other guy)

Read them. Support them. And choose your words carefully.