“Three Minutes”

This Take Ten to Write story was submitted by E. L. Stew. Happy reading!

The courtyard was packed full of people. Thousands had gathered in the three minutes that had elapsed.

The president had just made his fourth televised announcement of the day.

The first, was the usual “this is not a threat to our nation.” The second: “we are taking the necessary steps to insure safety across the country. Then came the more ominous “please remain indoors, we will be announcing our action plan shortly.” Finally, came the announcement made just three minutes ago: “men and women of optimal health are requested at the parliament’s courtyard.”

“What does it mean?”

“When will we know? And why do we have to be healthy?”

“Do you think they’ll send us to fight?”

“I hope they tell us soon.”

“I don’t think I watered the plants this morning.”

“Maybe we should ask someone if they know what’s happening.”

Jacob and Iris kept the conversation continuous, as they often did when they were nervous. The real questions, the words needing to be freed, were unutterable. James longed to tell Iris that he also wanted children. He had always avoided the topic of growing their family because he felt he didn’t have an income enough to warrant such a wish. Iris, who made almost twice as much as Jacob in any given day, didn’t think their wage gap was the issue. She thought Jacob was still scared of to committing to her. He had, after all, gotten cold feet twice in the last year. She wanted to tell him that she would be there for him no matter when his temperaments waned.

They needed to survive.

They both wondered if Iris would be deemed healthy. She had recently recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and although she had regained full motion of her right leg, she still had a slight limp.

The president stepped up to the podium.