In Lieu of Flowers
There it was at the end of her letter. In lieu of flowers. No obit card. Nothing.
Just an afterthought; forgo the flowers. Send a donation to an obscure charity.
I wrote to Boo several weeks ago. My best friend on the mainland.
His wife replied with a short note. And there it was… In lieu of…
I searched the papers. No notice. Nothing in the newsletter.
Nothing on the networks, the internet or cable. Google – nada.
Yet, there it was. Surprise.
Abstain from the accustomed. No flowers.
Strange. Too soon. It wasn’t his time.
A favorite of mine. Loved and esteemed. And now, just no flowers.
An error? Maybe. Not likely, though. Possibly a mistake? Improbable.
A lie? Couldn’t be. No reason to prevaricate.
A joke. That would be sick. No one would do that; I hope.
How to check? Not many of us left to confirm or deny.
Should I call and ask? Better not. Don’t want to open a wound again. Nothing maudlin.
There’s something missing now. An empty space.
A hollow, dreary void now exists where there was none before.
I’ll not send flowers. Just the check.
Seems pointless.
Posted in Short Stories
Reilly Maginn's debut novel, BIO, a medical action thriller is a truly frightening tale of Jihadist bioterrorism. A story of weapons of mass destruction that could happen here in the US. Set in the south Pacific, a volunteer American physician/surgeon faces off against not only a deadly virus, but also the radical muslim terrorists who developed it. There is a fittingly appropriate conclusion. The novel is a real page turner and soon will appear on the big screen.
Linda Anderson May 13th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
This seemed to have the rhythm of confusion when death is unexpected. Caught up the reader. However, the last two words don’t work for me. I don’t know what is pointless here. The rest is A+.