A Choice

The Choice

D. A. Ratliff

What do you write on a blank page? Let’s face it, words mean something. Isolated words provide little meaning. They must intertwine to impart thoughts, hopes, wisdom, and sometimes convey emotions, ranging from the darkest pain to the highest joy.

My years of teaching creative writing have taught me the power of words. A stroke of a pen or the click of a key can drive pain through someone’s heart, or declare love, the greatest gift we can give to another.

I tell my students to choose each word carefully, paying attention to the nuances as fiction can provide what is missing in their readers’ souls. Someone angry can find hope in how a character dealt with adversity. Someone in love or crushed by love can find solace or validation.

For the moment, words escape me. A sheet of heavy linen paper lay on the desk, my favorite fountain pen beside it. Call me old-fashioned, but for correspondence that has meaning, nothing can replace a handwritten letter. I only need to decide what I want to write.

For someone who makes their living creating with words, finding the words to express my feelings eludes me. My dilemma is that before I can write, I must decide the direction my life takes—nothing important here, just a life-altering decision and one that involves the enigma of love. Love is elusive, and when we find it, we cling to it, afraid to let go. That describes the situation I face.

Love as portrayed in a romance novel is an earth-shattering, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Love in real life can feel that way, but the daily grind and rigors of work, mortgages, bills, and family tarnish the fairytale. How does one accept love and all its pitfalls when the easiest thing is to walk away?

That I am in love is unquestionable, but is love enough? As we grow older, some of us may find a need to simplify our lives. The fact is that I come with little baggage. The same doesn’t hold for the other person in this relationship, who brings a great deal of his past along.

The question becomes how to decide what is most important. I suppose in a way the choice is much like the decisions we make when writing. What aspects of the characters and the story make them sympathetic? We examine those pros and cons and determine what is best. The question for me is whether I should take the easy way out or accept the obstacles and the challenges they bring.

I stared at the blank sheet of stationery in front of me, my mind a jumble of thoughts. I sorted through each concern, and the decision came to me. I started to write, the words flowing through the fountain pen onto the page, heartfelt words that explained my decision. When I finished, relief washed over me, just as it does when we make a choice and feel a sense of contentment.

I tucked the letter into an envelope, wrote his name on the front, and sealed the flap with wax. I placed the letter where he would find it and left the house. The page was no longer blank, as I had made my choice.

I chose love.

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Written for a What's Next? prompt on the Facebook Group Writers Unite! Image and opening sentence provided and the author writes the rest of the story. This is a work of fiction.