Miriam's Choice

There is a split second where we decide to, or not to. It exists in everything we say, everything we do, every moment we move through the world. Miriam, in that split second, decided to. After she would wonder if she had decided rightly. Once her task was completed she might curse her situation, blame circumstance, rail against the unfairness of this cruel and punitive world. Later she would brood over what might have happened had she decided not to. But that is another story.

It really wasn’t a hard choice to make, at least it hadn’t seemed that way. It had been easy like the flip of a coin, a whim, a careless nod, a shake of the head. She couldn’t really remember how she had made the choice. One second she had been traveling down one path in time, the next, a different one. She wondered if she would have known the difference if she had chosen not to instead.

After torturing herself about the what ifs, the if onlys, and the but I’s, Miriam stopped worrying about the decision and simply got down to the to of it. Really, that was all that she could do. She had started, so there was no turning back, no changing course, no starting over. Now it must be done. Now she must show her resolve and commit to the task at hand. The clock was ticking and, as we all know, time waits for no one.

And so, with shaking hand and quavering breath she did.

“C5,” Miriam said.

“Miss. G3,” Joseph replied.

“Hit.” She sighed heavily. “You sank my battle ship.”

“Yes! That’s two games out of three! You do the dishes for an extra week. HA!” Her thirteen year old brother jumped up from the table and did his version of a Battle Ship touchdown dance in the middle of the dining room.

Miriam turned Joseph’s half of the game to her and stared at the game board. It was clear that had she chosen C7 she would have won. His smallest ship lay hidden on the C6 and C7 positions and she had chosen wrong. Dishes for an extra week.

“Hey, Mira. Want to play for taking out the garbage?”

There is a split second where we decide to or not to. This time Miriam decided not and did not waste time worrying that it might be the wrong choice.

~ Peace and decisiveness