Under the Mango Tree: 101 Tales (2)

AND SO IT SHALL BE

Challenge No.34 - Truth or Dare.

Write a scene or story that includes a character either taking a dare or revealing a secret about themselves.

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Joel was a coward and now they were coming for him. He sat in the regulation accommodation and looked out the porthole. They'd designed the windows to resemble the lookouts. His window looked out onto a view of a mangrove. He'd never realized just how much life lived in a mangrove. But he'd had the time to observe the ecosystem.

Now they were coming for him.

Child's play. Who would have thought that grown men would be playing a game of truth or dare and the consequences would be so far-reaching? They'd been playing that stupid game and when it came to his choice, he had to declare an unknown love or take a trip. The choice had been easy. The trip! He'd never been to Africa, he'd do that. It would be fun.

Now they were coming for him.

The trip turned out to be destination Mars. There was no backing out for apparently, he'd been signed up and a contract with the CARICOM Space Agency was a contract.

It had taken the unrelenting and insistent demands of the people of the Caribbean and it had taken one hundred years to achieve the Federation, but they'd done it. From Belize in the west to Cuba and the Bahamas in the North, weaving through every Dutch, English, French and Spanish speaking nation, they had forged the one Caribbean dreamt of by their ancestors. There was talk that Louisiana wanted to secede from that Union, so as to join the CARICOM Federation. Time would tell if that rumour had any merit.

Now they were coming for him.

He'd rather tell Farrah goodbye than say 'I love you.' and that's exactly what he did. He'd walked into her office and said it.

It had been end of day on a Friday. He'd gone to see his black, beautiful, intelligent, wonderful Farrah. "Hey, Farrah. Just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving."

"Great. See you Monday. Have a good weekend."

He stepped into her office. "You don't understand. I won't be back."

She gaped at him. "You are right, I don't understand. Where are you going?"

"To Suriname, I've been chosen to be on the CSA mission to Mars." He lied.

She'd been too stunned to speak and he'd taken the opportunity to leave. "Take care."

The words had brought her back to life. "JOEL!"

He stopped.

"I don't know what to say. I have so many questions!" She stood and came round her desk. "This isn't the usual 'have a safe trip, see you later' kind of goodbye."

"I know."

"Then I'll just say this. I'll miss you... a lot. Be safe. Be happy." She hugged him.

That had been a year ago. A year of intense training. Now it was launch day.

He took one last look out the window at the mangrove. There was a knock on his door. He picked up his case.

He was a coward and now they had come for him.

© 3 April 2022

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