One Last Time

Writer's Write Daily Prompt #12 - open the novel you're reading to page 99. Take the first sentence at the top of the page and use it as the first sentence for a story.

Finn's reaction is mainly triggered by the overall impression of the empty park's grandeur, shadowed by a cloud of mystery. (Excerpt from Kingdom Keepers VII: The Insider by Ridley Pearson) Alzbeta looked up at him and frowned, "Close your mouth, you're going to let flies in."

"Sorry, Betty. It's just so oddly beautiful."

"It's a good thing you like sad things," she said as her wheelchair rocked over the broken cement. She sighed and tightened her scarf as the towering ferris wheel loomed closer.

"Look, I know it's your birthday, but this place is giving me the creeps. Can we be anywhere else?"

"Not really. This place is my history. I had to come back one last time."

Finn grumbled to himself, but he knew he didn't want to disagree with her. He puts gloves on and set the chair's break so he could push open the vine-entangled gate. It used its last ounce of energy to keep them out, groaning and squealing until a hinge broke and it dug into the pavement, leaving a gap only 2 feet wide. Finn tried shoving it further, but it wouldn't budge. He turned expecting to see a disappointed girlfriend, but instead found a stubborn one. She took her came from her lap and rose to her frail, knocking knees. Finn rushed to her side and held her arm, guiding her through the gate.

They strolled past empty vendors, abandoned shops, and rusted attractions. Neither spoke, and neither needed to.

He looked at her and realized for the first time how much she was a result of science. Radiation exposure as an infant lead to cancer for the past 25 years in various parts of her body, only to be treated with a myriad of toxic drugs and more radiation. Her hair grew in patches and hadn't been longer than 6 inches since she was a toddler. No amount of makeup could hide how gaunt she had become. Clothes somehow are her look even thinner. Her bones constantly ached, preventing her from standing straight. None of this, though, had ever affected his love for her. It was all he'd ever known her to be.

He held her hand and it was still soft, her eyes still sparkled, and she still smiled at every opportunity. But perhaps the thing that made her most beautiful, and the thing that still mystified Finn, was the fact that she did not see herself as a result of science, but instead, as a result of grace, provision, and love.