Gone

by Xanthe Elliott

They told her to turn him off – let him go –he’s really already gone. Standing over his hospital bed, her denials were fierce, immediate. “He is my husband; I will bring him back.” And she did, though he’d been beaten to the very edge of eternity. Later she would watch him as his brow furrowed in concentration, his fingers twisting and twining until at last a bright smile lit up his face. He tugged excitedly on her sleeve. “Hey lady, look! I tied my shoes…” She cried.

  

Xanthe Elliott is the alter-ego of a mild-mannered Maryland accountant. After counting beans by day, she seeks the meaning of life in the written word. Xanthe crafts tales of romance and self-reflection; her work is featured in One Sentence Stories, online at 101Fiction.com and is forthcoming in Rose Red Review.