Obligation

I give to you a story in eleventy-one words...

He pulled into the driveway; the car’s clock struck midnight. When did life become an obligation, he wondered. A tear snuck into his beard.

He reluctantly grasped the doorknob to his bedroom, stopped, retreated to the kitchen. He prepared hot chocolate – complete with marshmallows – and transported three mugs into the living room.

‘Wake up,’ he gently shook his two young sons in turn. ‘I have a surprise.’ They sleepily followed and settled around the coffee table.

‘Do you want to hear a story about the woods down the street?’ They nodded. ‘There’s magic in them.’ When their eyes grew wide, he knew that being a dad would never be an obligation.