I had a dream about a short story last night. This story has many variations and is attributed to many different writers and I’ve been hearing it since I was a little girl. (If you know of writers/TV shows who are associated with telling it, please let me know and I’ll list them on this post.)
***
Bill, standing at a bus stop, watches as a man in a bright yellow Lamborghini speeds by him. The man is laughing and seems to be having the time of his life.
“Man.” Bill blows out his breath. “I would do anything to have a car like that.”
“You’d do anything?” An elderly man turns to him.
“I’d do anything.” Bill nods.
“What if I told you I could grant you your wish?” The elderly man leans closer to him. “You would receive a car exactly like that one. But.” He holds up one of his index fingers. “In payment for that wish, one hundred people you have never met would die before their time.”
“You’re not serious.” Bill scoffs at the outlandish offer.
The elderly man meets his gaze. An unnatural light gleams in his eyes. “I’m deadly serious.” An awe-inspiring power radiates from him.
F*ck. The man was serious. Bill stares at him. “I’d receive a Lamborghini?”
“You’d receive a Lamborghini.” The elderly man’s head dips.
“And I wouldn’t know the hundred people who’d die?” He wanted that confirmation.
“They’d be complete strangers.” The elderly man’s head dips again. “Consider this offer carefully. Once you agree to it, it can’t be undone.”
Bill hesitates for a moment. “What is there to consider? I don’t know the people and I’d have a Lamborghini. I agree to the deal.”
“I suspected you’d agree to it.” The elderly man grins as a bright yellow Lamborghini rolls to a stop before them. “Thousands of complete strangers have already accepted my offer.”
***
When I first heard the story, I thought the message was to not make deal with folks with magical powers. (grins) Like I mentioned, I was a kid.
Now, I realize the true message. And I find it bizarre that so many of us have to make a similar decision almost every day now. Maybe we have ALWAYS had to make these choices. But now, they are emphasized with all the discussions around mask-wearing, social distancing, limiting contact with others.
We are all Bill and we are all facing the same choice he did—our personal happiness vs the lives of complete strangers.
Note: If the universe is taking suggestions about which stories to next bring into this timeline, I have a list of cyborg romances I wouldn’t mind seeing unfold. (grins)
***
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Testing Truth
A fun-loving cyborg gets serious about love.
***
Truth lives each moment as though it were his last. The cyborg warrior rushes into danger, teases beings he shouldn’t provoke, accepts every call of adventure he encounters.
When a prissy little human princess floats into the Rebel structure Truth is occupying, seeking a mercenary to assist her and her unusual entourage, he volunteers to be her warrior. She claims their assignment is dangerous, warns him he might not survive the task.
That is exactly the type of fun he has been seeking.
Princess Nanette of the planet Royaume must rescue her estranged brother from an enemy prison ship. That is her duty, and she has been trained to always place the needs of her planet and her subjects before her own. Nancy doesn’t have the freedom to indulge her passions for a certain dark-haired, gray-skinned cyborg. Not permanently and not publicly.
But she is unable to resist the warrior. Truth, with his laughing eyes, smiling lips, and rough hands, tempts her as no one else ever has. He could be her one fleeting act of rebellion before she’s matched with the powerful ruler her planet requires.
If they survive their current mission.
Their love is doomed. Their lifespans are at risk. This cyborg and his princess will need the help of every ally they have if they wish to see another sunrise.
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