Chuck Wendig at Terrible Minds posts flash fiction challenges. This week's is to get a random song and use its title as the title of your story. 1000 words.
Full post here - http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/10/18/flash-fiction-challenge-random-song-title/
I pulled up my Pandora and "It's Gonna Be Love" by Mandy Moore from the A Walk to Remember soundtrack popped up first.
It's Gonna Be Love
Hadia stared at the screen, displaying numerous charts and graphs in front
of her. The problems were too vast to solve, but she had to. The leadership was crumbling, the people were
dying, and she was prophesized to hold the answer.
“2500 children were murdered
yesterday. 1350 adults were imprisoned
for crimes they likely did not commit.
The murderers still run free.
What is the answer? How do you
change the world in one day?” She slammed her fist on the
desk. “Damnit! I can’t do this. I need a drink.”
Hadia opened the refrigerator. Bottled water, soda, beer. That wouldn’t do. She needed something stronger. She grabbed her keys and headed to the
car. Thinking better of it, she signaled
a cab.
The bar was dark, lonely drinkers
scattered throughout. No one spoke. She sat down at the bar and caught the eye of
the bartender. “Rum and coke.”
He poured her drink and slid it to
her, looking at her with curiosity. “What’s
a purty girl like you doin’ here in the middle of the day?”
“Trying to save the world.” She downed her drink.
“Heh, ain’t we all, sugar.”
“Another.”
She picked up her drink and found a
corner table to sit at in silence. Lost
in thought, she didn’t see the man approach her table.
“Seat taken?”
She looked up. He was tall, with black eyes and hair. He wore a black coat and hat. Everything about him screamed, “I’m
dangerous.” She knew she should turn him
away, but she was drawn to him in a way she couldn’t explain. “No, go ahead.”
He sat and placed his hat on the
table. “Luthando.”
“Hadia.”
“You’re struggling with something.”
“Quite the genius, figuring out
that someone in a bar is struggling.”
“No, your struggle isn’t like the
others here. Your struggle is critical.”
Hadia looked at Luthando, wondering
how he could possibly know that. “Who
are you?”
“Luthando.”
“Not your name. Who are you?”
“It’s not important. What is
important is that I know what you are struggling with. I know how to help you.”
“How do you know?”
“Not important. Come with me.”
“Why would I follow you?”
“Because you see something in me
too. You know there is something special
about me. You know I can help you.”
“There’s something special, yes,
but I’m not sure it’s good. I don’t believe it will help me.”
“I see you’ve made your
choice. Soon, you will change your mind.” He stood up, placed his hat back on his head,
and left the bar.
“What the hell?” Hadia muttered
under her breath. She finished her drink
and left. The sun was much brighter than
she recalled. She signaled a cab and
gave her address. When she arrived home,
she saw a dark figure through her window and froze.
“You okay, Miss?” the cab driver
asked.
She nodded, paid the man, and
walked toward her house, eyes never leaving the figure in her window. She opened the door slowly and called out, “I
know you’re in here. I’m armed. Don’t try anything.”
“You’re not armed. And if you were,
your aim would be terrible.”
She recognized the voice. It was the man from the bar. “Why are you following me? How do you know
where I live?”
“Not important. Are you ready to let me help you now?”
“No. Absolutely not. I cannot trust
you to help when you won’t answer any of my questions.”
“The only question that matters is
how to solve this problem, how to save the world.”
Hadia froze. “Are you? You can’t be.”
“I can, I might be, I am, and I’m
not – all at once.”
“What? You’re trying to confuse me.
I won’t let you harm me.”
“I would never harm you. I would
never harm anyone. That isn’t the answer.”
“Then what is?”
“You must find that for yourself,
but I can help you.”
Hadia approached the man, standing
at the window. “And how is that?”
“First, you must trust me.”
“Fine, I trust you.”
“No, you must really trust me. Show me.
Tell me your problem.”
She rolled her eyes and took a seat
at her computer. “Fine. The world is
facing total destruction. The leadership is failing. The people are dying.
Those who remain are revolting. The end is near. Is that what you wanted to
hear?”
“No, I never want to hear such
horrible truths, but it’s what you needed to hear. What’s the problem?”
“I just told you.”
“No, Hadia, you listed the
symptoms. What is the problem?”
“I don’t know!”
“How can you solve a problem when
you don’t know what it is?”
Hadia looked at him, her curiosity
growing. “I don’t know.”
“Think, dear; think.”
Hadia sighed. “I need to determine
the link between the symptoms. I need to find the common cause.”
“Yes, keep going.”
Hadia stood and began pacing around
the room. “The people revolt out of fear.
Fear caused by murders. Murders happen because the leadership doesn’t know how to
stop them.”
“Further.”
“The leadership doesn’t know how to
stop them because,” she trailed off. “I
have no idea.”
“Go back to the beginning.”
“The beginning?”
“The beginning of the leadership.”
“The leadership came to be because
of the wars. Everyone was fighting, no
one even realized the changes.”
“Yes, you’re nearly there now. What
caused the wars?”
“Disagreements. Everyone wanted
their own way. No one understood the other points of view.”
“More.”
“No one tried to understand the other
points of view. Everyone was too self-centered, too selfish, too full of hate.”
“That’s it.”
“The problem is hate?”
“How do you defeat hate?”
“Love. The answer is love.”
“It always is.”
Hadia jumped to hug the man before
her, but as she wrapped her arms around him, he disappeared. She was unsure if he was ever there at all,
but now she had her answer. To solve the
problems of the world, she needed to find a way to spread love.
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