Criminal

He had been marked as a criminal as a young boy. The branding itself was not especially painful, not physically at least. The stigma that he now bears has, however, made life nearly unbearable these past 20 years.

There is a relativity that applies to all things in all times. A crime, for example, may in fact be a heroic act under the right circumstances and in the right culture. To ignore the possibility of nuance means that everything becomes black and white in a world full of color.

Yet there is nothing relative about the brand on his face.

Blink

She’d strain each time to keep her eyes open as long as possible, until tears were rolling down her cheeks, but no amount of effort was enough to stop the inevitable.

The lifetimes had started to pile up, some tragic, some painful, all of them heart-wrenching in one way or another, but never were they uneventful. There were times when she wanted a new life but usually she became attached and knowing she had to let go was the worst part.

But what could she do? She was cursed to live an entire lifetime with each blink of an eye.