Microstory 1502: Blackbabbler

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I am not a killer, not a violent man

But when I see pain, or injustice, or betrayal

When I see a man treat a woman like a gaarkania thorn

Or a leader lead his people into darkness

I will strike

I will become the blackbabbler

Lining his brood spawn with a toxic layer of bubbles

Snapping at anything that dares swim near

I will become anything and everything to her

And to all other innocents

Being taken advantage of

Being stepped on, and pushed around

I will be doing the pushing from now on

If that means towards a better path

Or off a cliff

I will what I must

He slides slowly through the air

And for a time, I wonder if he’ll land

I wonder if someone will reach out and pluck him from his death

Is this a waste of my time?

No, for this is happening

What I have done cannot be undone

And if he shall survive, he will still know it was me

He will know that I judged him guilty

He will know that he is guilty

I am guilty too

I know that taking a life is not right

But what’s wrong is not always wrong

Unlike him, I will take ownership of my actions

I will not lie, or slither, or hide outside the river of time

I’ll accept the consequences

Because that is right

They will say that I am isolated, and do not understand the world

But this is my world, and it has belonged to me longer than anyone

Now she belongs to me, not as a possession, but as a responsibility

If I can only save her once, at least I did that much

And I know what it means

He lands, but he doesn’t

It’s more like the land landed on him, just upside down

I watch for a moment to make sure it truly happened

My legs are shaking, I’m nervous

I fear that if I keep hovering this close, I too shall fall

And that too shall be my fault

I step back, and I walk away

I catch a glimpse of a woman, across the way

She did not get here in time

She could not stop me

And now it is done

And I can rest