Short Stories 182 — Writing Prompt 15

When an elderly person went to their local mall, they had no idea they’d wind up saving the world.

“How long are you planning to sleep, love. Get up already,” Martha said to his husband who is deep in his sleep, not budging at all. “He has such deep sleep that sometimes I feel like he has left me and this planet, but then he snores, and thank god he is fine,” Martha said to herself. “Wake up, it is 9.15. Go and get some milk, love,” and said and the love taps on the cheek always do the work.

Robert woke up from a deep sleep, pissed off. “Can you use another technique, dear? I hate this one, it makes me wake up in distress. It bothers me.” He looked at the clock and said, “There is no milk and that is why you woke me up, haven’t you!”

“Yes, love. You know how much I love and need my morning tea.”

Robert murmured as he got up from the bed, “43 years and yet relies on me to get the milk.”

“Did you say something, love?”

“No nothing dear, just good morning.”

Martha kept nagging her until Robert got ready and left. Robert, a 67 years old walked like a young gun. He was quite an athlete in his youth. The training and the hard work have been paying dividends in his old age.

Upon reaching the local mall for the millionth time in his lifetime, he noticed that something was different this time. Something was off. The people present there were mad over something. He walked a little closer, scared yet brave.

He kept talking smaller steps, careful that he doesn't get pushed by a random bystander and break his hip. He reached close but did not know what was going on. He decided to go around as the crowd there was going mad. They were yelling at something, or someone, about something.

As he reached around, he realized the madness that was going on. It was some kind of sale, and people were going mad over it. Upon further inspection, he found out, the rush was for an iPhone. “What is wrong with these people?” once again Robert said to himself, the person who used to wake up at 6 AM every day, but after discovering Facebook on his mobile, now stays awake late at night, watching new trends and food videos.

Internally he was curious how the new phone was but had other important matters to deal with such as getting the milk to her loving wife. He reached the dairy section. After picking up the milk and few other products along the way and he returned to the cash counter. There was a mother with her child placed awkwardly in her arms and his head was sticking out just above her shoulder.

Robert looked at the baby with chubby cheeks and looked away, as he had raised 2 children and 5 grandchildren and was over the cuteness a baby can mesmerize you with. But he was too sensitized by it and Robert did not care, how much the cheeks of the baby were dangling from his face.

The baby kept staring at Robert while Robert looked at oblivion. But as soon as the baby laughed, Robert’s heart melted and he started making funny faces to which the baby kept giggling, and the trolly that Robert had with him slide a little further.

A sudden bang went off that scared the entirety of the customers on that floor. It was an explosion. All the customers were horrified. The explosion was so loud, that both the mother and Robert were Shook. The mother's flight response kicked in and in the process, the grip on the baby loosed and the baby fell down, head first. The baby dropped head first, into the cart that luckily did not roll further.

Mother quickly realized that the baby had fallen, but safe. So she picked him up and ran for her and his baby’s life. Meanwhile, Robert looked around, if someone needed help. He heard screams from where the explosion came from and ran to help others.

He reached the spot where there were people burning alive, people had lost their limbs, and a scene of complete horror. As he moved towards his right to help a man that had sustained injuries. He removed a blanket from the shelf and put out the fire that had almost engulfed his entire lower body.

The fire was out and the injured man took a deep breath and looked up, into the eyes of the man that saved his life. But he realized something in the background. The ceiling on top of them was loose and hanging. Before he could speak anything, it fell down.

Later that afternoon, Martha received the news. Robert had died while trying to save another man. She cried and grieved her heart out. The pain was unbearable, as Robert was the only one that she had and she couldn’t bear the burden of living alone, and after two months, she too passed away, as her last words were, “Robert is waiting for me up there.”

37 years later

A 39-year-old man had stopped the nuclear war, by going against the orders of his rogue superior to launch a nuclear attack. Upon being asked by a reporter “Thank you, sir, because of you we all are alive?”

And the man replied, “Don’t thank me, Thank my mother that saved me during the terrorist attack that took place 37 years ago. I must have been 2 years old, and my mother saved my life. So it was because of her, I am still alive and was able to save the day. Thank you, mother.”