Yellow Mama E zine

THE CHOICE

​

by J. R. Lindermuth

 

           "Way I see it, kid, you got two choices," Henry said in a cigarette-raspy voice. "Either I kill you now, or you do what I ask."

          "W-what are you gonna ask?" I stuttered.

          "You kill your friend."

          "Then?"

          "Then I let you go. I might even recommend you as a button man."

          "You-you'd do that?"

          "I might. Provided you do what I ask."

           It was something Tommy and I had dreamed and talked about a lot. How we might join the ranks. Still?

          "But he's my friend."

          "Friends come and go. One can always be replaced. It's all down to what's more important to you."

          So that's how I came to be standing over my buddy, Tommy, a pistol pressed to his skull and him whimpering and pleading for me not to do it.

           "You gonna do it, or you gonna wait for Christmas?"

          "It's tough."

          "Sure. First one always is. After that it's like eatin' a slice of pie."

           Friends come and go. I concentrated on that. Opportunity only knocks once. I thought about that, too. I shut my eyes. Sorry, old buddy, it's you or me. My finger tightened on the trigger.

 

         A retired newspaper editor, J. R. Lindermuth's short stories have appeared in a variety of magazines, including Mystery Magazine, Crime and Suspense, Mysterical-E, Mouth Full of Bullets, and others.

​

       KJ Hannah Greenberg is eclectic. She’s played oboe, participated in martial arts, learned basket weaving, and studied Middle Eastern dancing. What’s more, she’s a certified herbalist, and an AP College Board-authorized teacher of calculus. 

       Her creative efforts have been nominated once for The Best of the Net in poetry, once for The Best of the Net in art, three times for the Pushcart Prize in Literature for poetry, once for the Pushcart Prize in Literature for fiction, once for the Million Writers Award for fiction, and once for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. To boot, Hannah’s had more than forty-five books published and has served as an editor for several literary journals.

Check out her latest short fiction collection, An Orbit of Chairs:

https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-Chairs-KJ-Hannah-Greenberg/dp/B0CWMMM73T

 Within its pages are two tales originally published at Yellow Mama: "Alive Another Day" and "Light Notes."

Channie's new art book, Life's Colors, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FGCTHJ6Z, just launched (hit "read sample" button). It contains images originally published by Yellow Mama.