Photo credit: Cheryl
Hala climbed over the bannister, pretending to clean, fixated on the forbidden artifact.
Closer, she dropped all pretense and stared. The silvery sphere floated above the pedestal. Its surface seemed to reflect a thousand candles, yet none of the temple’s colors.
She’d built a hole in her heart for it — its shape, its colors. The urge to understand its texture tortured her.
Resistance gone, she reached, hesitant, then full on, palm down, fingers splayed.
An indescribable tingle saturated her skin.
Hala woke prone, clerics yelling and pointing to her blackened, useless arm.
She smiled, to know what they never would.
Word count: 100. This is my first submission to Moral Mondays — this week’s prompt is “Look, don’t touch.”
Tales from Eneana 
Some things are truly worth the sacrifice
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Hala seems to have thought so! I’m glad she’s happy with the outcome, at least. Thanks for commenting!
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It sounds like it was worth it! If Hala is happy with the price she paid for the knowledge, then who can argue. Great read, Joy. 🙂
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Thanks Sammi! Hala sort of surprised me by being happy about the result. I thought this was going to be a story about regrets. But something about the fact that she knew something the others didn’t, that tipped her over the edge.
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I think she think it’s worth the sacrifice. I hope the knowledge is. It reminds me of Dumbledores blackened hand in the 6th Harry Potter Book. Well written.
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Oh right, I hadn’t even thought about Dumbledore’s hand, good point. Well, that’s not an uncommon effect of magic gone wrong, I suppose — although his was slowly withering with some spreading disease. Thanks for commenting!
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‘She’d built a hole in her heart for it’ what a lovely sentence that is! Great story, Joy, though I’m not sure Hala would agree with the moral ‘Look, don’t touch’ as she seems quit happy to have made such a great sacrifice for her experience. Lovely write
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Thanks Lynn! I’m so glad you noticed that line, that was my favorite. I agree, the moral seems to have backfired for Hala – although she did pay a price, one that others might not be so willing to do.
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Absolutely – she must have so wanted that 🙂
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Wow! Spell-bounding story! What are we willing to sacrifice to learn all the mysteries of the world. It’s like seeing God and then having to die. Sometimes it’s just worth it.
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Thanks Nortina, I’m so glad that feeling came across! And in this case, Hala didn’t even have to die, although she was apparently willing to risk it.
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Brave girl. But for the knowledge . . . I might risk it too . . . maybe not. 🙂
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Oh, this is brilliant, Joy. Knowledge comes with a price sometimes…
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Thank you Sonya! Yes it does, but Hala was either very dedicated about it or crazily obsessed, depending on how you look at it. 😉
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