In the Shadows of Dusk

The dying embers of sunlight fade to dusk, casting long, eerie shadows through the windows of the small bedroom.

Clara hastily packs a tattered blue suitcase on the bed with a few clothes, personal effects, and a framed wedding photo. The air hangs heavy with unspoken words and stifled emotions.

She glances around the room as memories flicker of laughter, love, dreams, and belonging. She looks at her husband, Ethan, standing a few feet away, his red eyes moist and sad.

A foreboding sense of hopelessness hangs in the silence between them; this is a parting that neither wants nor can resist.

There’s a knock on the door. Her fifteen minutes are up. They are waiting. She grimaces, and her hands tremble as she snaps the old suitcase shut, the sound jarring and loud like shots from a gun. She dons her worn winter coat.

Ethan clenches his fists, his knuckles white as he tries to hold back the tears. He cries out, his angry voice filled with despair: “It’s unfair! They can’t do this! This is America!”

He reaches for Clara; she collapses into his arms, sobbing. He holds her, an embrace so tight that nothing in heaven or earth could ever break apart. Except for the two masked immigration agents standing outside the door, armed with guns and the full weight of the law.

There’s another knock, harder, more insistent this time. A raised, impatient voice shouts, “Hurry up there, it’s time to go!” 

Clara slowly separates from Ethan’s arms and gives him a lingering kiss. She wipes her eyes, hoists the luggage from the bed and walks the few steps to the door. She turns around and locks eyes with Ethan. “I love you, baby,” she whispers.

He rushes towards her, closing the short distance that already feels like a thousand miles, and squeezes her hand tightly. “Oh Clara, I love you so much! I’ll get you back, I promise. I’ll hire a lawyer, the best one I can afford. You belong with me, here in America. No matter what they say.”

She manages a weak smile. “I know you will, baby.” She raises his hand to her lips and softly kisses it. “Be strong, my love.”

She lets go of his hand, opens the door, and steps into the custody of the waiting agents, who take her away to an unknown future in a faraway land. 

*****

Flash Fiction 400 words, exactly