by Jane Winstead

Created on: October 05, 2009

Short stories: Fade Into the Sunset.

Someone was knocking at the door. Smiling, Sophie pulled back the curtains and saw that it was Bob, the mail carrier. She was surprised; in the ten years he had delivered their mail he had never knocked on their door. Sophie opened the door and took the envelope from his hand. Without a word, he shook his head slowly, turned and walked off the porch.

Sophie gasped as she saw the envelope addressed to her and to her husband Sam from the Health and Welfare Department. Several of her friends mentioned getting these letters and it put the fear of God into all who received one. No one wanted to talk about them and certainly, no one spoke of the counseling by the Committee that made all the decisions about the health care of senior citizens. A friend told Sophie that at the end of their session they had been ordered by the Committee not to discuss the procedure by penalty of law, which meant immediate incarceration in a Senior Citizen Health Care unit setup for such use around the country.

With trembling hands she opened the envelope and pulled out the single sheet of paper. It was dated January 2, 2013.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN it read in large capital letters, You are required to appear before the Committee on National Health care for End of Life Counseling at, Sophie could read no more. She recalled watching the couple down the street drive away without a word to anyone few weeks after they went for counseling. It was as if they just faded into the sunset.

Sophie remembered the day when Sam held her close many years ago on their honeymoon when she said, I hope we never die, I want us to fade into the sunset together. With their whole lives ahead of them, she never dreamed that someday it could actually be ordered by her government.

The morning of their scheduled session was a dismal day. A steady downpour had evolved as the morning wore on. Nervously, holding hands, Sam and Sophie walked into the appointed room. They sat in two folding chairs in front of a table. Seated at the table was a panel of four men and a rather pleasant looking woman. While the panel did not look very compassionate, she was encouraged to see the woman was about the age of their daughter.

With little fanfare to accompany his pompous gestures, the large fierce looking man in the middle stood up and identified himself as the Chairman. There had been no discussion, no questions; he slowly unfolded the crisp piece of paper he held in his hands and began

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>