His childlike face was bowed with adult despair. Tears trickled down like tributaries off the river of sorrow inside him. For the first time, she had second thoughts about what she had to do. Could she really kill such an innocent child? His chestnut, curly hair bounced with deceptive cheeriness as he vehemently wiped the tears off his face. She could see his father in him, his proud, mighty spirit, his high, smooth cheekbones... _But that's exactly why I have to kill him_, she thought disconsolately. _To kill my own son, the flesh of my flesh, the blood of my blood..._ Days after the delivery, the father had sent a messenger: _Kill the child._ And now here she was. But she couldn't do it. &quot;I'm going to take you to a family friend,&quot; she said. She mentally slapped herself over and over for what she was about to do. &quot;Yes, I'll give you money,&quot; she said quietly. &quot;But I can't be here to watch it. I'll take the statue when you are finished.&quot; And the friend removed her veil and looked at the child. 2007-09-29T04:15:07Z http://ficlets.com/feed/story/10414 <p>this is great&#8230;but i dont get the ending and the association with the statue?!?!?! man i feel dumb now that everyone else got it and its <strong>not</strong> your fault &#8211; it&#8217;s just sometimes i dont get things easily!!! LOL </p> <p>have you ever heard/read the play <em>Medea</em>? its centred around a woman who kills her 2/3 children to get back at her husband for leaving her and she goes through the same mental struggle as your character&#8230;i just thought you might not realise the connection</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/10414?basename=14964 2007-09-29T04:15:07Z artistsrunwild http://ficlets.com/authors/artistsrunwild <p>Tragic and intriguing&#8230;took me &#8216;til the very end to figure out the plan and the association with the picture.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/10414?basename=14897 2007-09-28T21:57:38Z THX 0477 http://ficlets.com/authors/thx_0477 <p>Don&#8217;t ya just hate having to take away words! Wow powerful piece.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/10414?basename=14890 2007-09-28T21:37:30Z SKermitgorf http://ficlets.com/authors/kermitgorf <p>...ehhh&#8230;better when it was 126 characters over =/</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/10414?basename=14887 2007-09-28T21:34:04Z blueyedwonder http://ficlets.com/authors/blueyedwonder