Mr. Shiftlet: A Short Story

Mr. Shiftlet kept driving down the road. The storm clouds above his little green car got thicker and more threatening. It got dark all around him. He heard the crashing thunder, and saw lightning in the distance. The bright flashes of light lit up the road so he could see. But sooner or later, everything became dark and his windshield began being pelted with rain. He started to think of Lucynell. He turned his head to the sky and screamed, “Lord, is this my punishment? I did wrong when I left Lucynell, I know it was wrong.” He started to think of her waking up in that little cafe. He knew that she would start to scream and cry out the only word that she knew how to say, “BBRRRDDDTT!” Over and over again she would scream it but no one would be able to help her. She would never see the old woman again.

Shiftlet started to feel the shame of his actions, starting even from the moment he walked down their road. “I’m sorry, God. I shouldn’t have done any of it. I thought that I had no other options. I need to get home to my mother,” tears streamed down his face and he continued to curse his own name. He had received a letter from his brother saying that their momma was having major trouble and wasn’t going to make it to the end of the summer. Mr. Shiftlet’s screams became louder and louder, along with the rain. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought that I had to make everything right with momma before she died. I didn’t want her to be ashamed of me anymore. But who can love me, a murderer! Poor Lucynell!” He started to feel all the weight of his actions that he hadn’t felt before. He thought that he was going to be stronger than this and be able to leave her behind. He never loved her anyway. He thought that he was saving his own life by making everything right with his mother, but in the end all he did was ruin his life, and Lucynell’s, and the old