Story A Day Challenge – Day 18 – The Choice

Today’s prompt was to take a generic premise for a story what comes from a classic novel. I took a few elements from the novel but decided to go with a completely different story and put my own spin on it. This was really fun to write. Enjoy!

---

The Choice

I woke up early, filled with dread. When I was shown to my chamber last night Cathy extracted my promise to join her family this morning. Unwisely I agreed but now all I wanted was to pack my things and leave.

Leaving the warm comfort of the bed I rose and tiptoed to the window. Damn, more snow had fallen in the night. There would be no sneaking out. I dressed nice for the meeting, as I felt it would be expected of me, and headed downstairs.

I thought to be the first to arrive but they were ready for me. The father, Heath stood by the massive fireplace. Cathy showed me to a chair before seating herself and the brother, whose name I never caught sat a few feet away with a grin on his face.

The maid brought two items and placed them in front of me. While her back was to the family she gave me such a look of horror I almost gasped. What was going on here? Before I could ask she gave a tiny shake of her head and hurried away.

I turned my attention to the boxes in front of me. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. Clearly I was supposed to choose between the two. What should have been an easy decision turned into something else. Something much more difficult.

I glanced up and accidentally made eye contact with Heath. There was a strange, dangerous glint in those eyes that unnerved me. I could see he wanted me to choose wrong. What would happen if I did? But which was the wrong one? For all I knew, this could be the most important decision of my life. From the look in Heath’s eyes it could almost be a life or death choice.

I gazed at the boy but only saw his perpetual smirk. I was afraid to look at Cathy but I did anyway. She smiled reassuringly and shifted her eyes to the left. What it a hint? Could I trust her? Why did they all care so much what I chose? Why the hell was no one speaking?

The tension in the room was escalating dramatically and I felt ridiculous. Finally I grabbed the box on the left, Corn Flakes, and poured them in my bowl. I peeked at Cathy who was visibly relieved. The brother, clearly amused, took the box when I passed it to him. Heath looked annoyed as he finally came to the table to sit down. No one spoke as we ate.

I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if I had chosen the Frosted Flakes.

---

The Prompt

A stranger to a remote area encounters a family with a mysterious and troubling past.
(Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)

---

Instead of messing with the family’s weird past I decided to pick a moment in time, which I think is a good showcase of their own special crazy. I also used the names (or a variation) from the source novel. The inspiration for this one was an old joke that you’re supposed to drag out for 10 minutes. I only vaguely remember the joke but I remember how annoyed I was in the end when the punchline finally came and how amused the guy who told me was at my reaction. I hope you all aren’t annoyed with the ending lol.

Rough draft 442 words