National Flash Fiction Day today! "Final Words" by Damon Lord

Today is National Flash Fiction Day. The following is a piece of flash I wrote earlier this year, whilst thinking about my late father (pictured). It was one of the most difficult pieces I have ever written. This piece means a lot to me.

FINAL WORDS

by

Damon Lord

 

The nurse gently turned off the machine and left us.

There was so much that I needed to say. I wanted to tell him I was sorry for all the times I had let my youthful arrogance win and I didn't listen to him, and how proud I was of all he'd done.

Maybe a quote from Shakespeare would suffice: "Good-night, sweet Prince" from Hamlet, maybe, but I could not remember the rest of it, and they would not be my words.

In the end, I just said "I love you", and held my father's hand as he died.