CABB’S
september 25th challenge, 2025
FAMOUS FIRST OR
LAST WORDS
THE QUANDARY
by JoAnn Baca
The meager slant of sunlight brought tears to his eyes. But here in the Park entrance, one couldn’t stand for too long without the possibility of attracting attention.
Devin reluctantly turned from the last rays of the day to the gloom of the tunnel and squinted, fingers searching for the trigger to unlock the gate.
As he waited for the click that would indicate he’d found the right pressure point, he blinked away the wetness, baffled by that inevitable reaction. Why did he always have to take one more glimpse of the day before returning to the darkness of Below? He didn’t know, but it was a long-ingrained habit. As if he were fearful that temporarily abandoning that radiance would cause it to disappear forever.
Yet he never gave a backward glance to the darkness when he left it for the world of light…even though he had family there, and love – two things the world Above did not hold for him.
Why was one such a beacon, and the other so easy to leave, so hard to return to?
The snick of the lock disengaging pulled him out of his reverie. He turned for one final look.
Goodbye, sunlight.
Please be here when I return.
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Wow, what a wonderful contrast between the need to see the sun, to live in this world Above and feel its brightness and warmth on your face every day… and the darkness that overwhelmed him, from which he fled, even though it hides his childhood and protects his family, and yet will never win over the light.
JoAnn, how profound and beautiful.
Thank you so much JoAnn for the contrast between Above and Below. That meager slant of sunlight was the light of a world of adventure he yearned for, yet the Below, which he had a hard time getting back to, was home. He liked leaving for the adventure, the sun, but it was hard to return to the tunnels Below. Perhaps because even though loved and cared for he yearned for that freedom. Much like a tamed horse. The barn was safety, yet there are rules and being at times controlled by those rules and people who love you. It’s good when you finally break free of the barn and run through the meadows. But where you are safe, the barn, you don’t feel free, sometimes. Devin needs to break free now, and then. But like the horse, he also, whether he wants to admit it or not, needs the safe love of Below.
JoAnn, thank you for another wonderful peek into Devin’s world, a place I never tire of visiting. In this one, you said so much in just a few words, and it is so poignant and perfect.
I love knowing more of Devin’s internal workings and this story reveals so much and in so few sentences! Incredibly powerful, that pull of the world of light, and knowing how Devin feels now, I realize his eventual leaving wasn’t really a spur of the angry moment thing. Thank you for a story I’ll always remember.
You told us so much in so few words, JoAnn 😊