Desperately, he glanced at the lethargic clock hands. He hadn’t even made 8 hours yet.
The hum and pop of sewing machines filled the air. His blood spotted hands were inept from exhaustion. He couldn’t take a break, his wife needed a little more sleep before it was her turn.
She sat at the back of the exam hall, straining to reach the paper. She’d been so anxious about making the exam.
She pushed a worried strand of hair behind her ear, she had got through the first half.
Then she felt it, the wetness spreading as her waters broke.
“The ambulance will be here to fix you up in no time kid, looks like a clean break at least”
He stared down at the ruptured flesh, hot thick blood advanced across the tarmac, a shiny pink bone jutted through the ripped skin. Nausea rippled through him; this was clean?
I had so many ideas for this contest, I couldn't resist sharing a few others. I found myself thinking a lot about the meaning of the word break and by extension, broken. Things are considered broken when their state is changed, from solid vase to shards, or from relentless rain to sunshine, or even a bond which in breaking, changes one atom to another. In some ways broken can just mean different to how something was, and doesn't necessarily imply worsening. I was very tempted to write another entry more along these lines but I already had enough to chose from!
This is my entry to @jayna 's Fifty Word Story Contest - the theme this week is 'Break' - you can find all the entries under the tag #fiftywords
Image made using a stock photo on Canva - a great resource for banners with text like this