The scent of incoming rain permeated the air, along with the scent of night blooms that grew wildly in the area. “So here’s the thing, Mr. Caine.” You would’t call him by his name again, not until he gave you the right. “I have made my decision – for good or bad. Now, it’s time for you. I’m giving you the chance to kill me, right here, right now.” You said as you grabbed his hand, firmly placing the gun in his palms. “But understand this,” You kept speaking, in the same firm tone, thankful it didn’t quiver. “This is the only chance I’m giving you to kill me. After this, should you choose not to, this will never come up again. After this, you’ll need to let go of the idea that you’re killing me. After this, you never, ever threaten me with my life again.” “You deliver my death or you let it go. Either way, you need to make a choice, as I’ve made mine and come to peace with it.Because if your choices affect my life so deeply, if a choice you made two decades ago is defining my life right now, then I’ll make you choose again. This time, not as a boy but as a grown man.” You saw his grip on the gun tighten, his arm starting to move, and you closed your eyes. The noises around yoy seemed louder in the utter darkness behind your lids. The sounds of creatures doing their nightly rituals, the sound of wind rustling through the leaves, the sound of your heart pounding in your ears. The scents were more acute as well. The scent of the heavy clouds in the air, the scent of your own fear permeating your skin, the scent of thr wildflowers in the night. The storm brewing outside, the tempest breaking inside, combining, colliding, capturing. Was he pointing his gun at you? Your chest grew heavy. Was he thinking it over? Your body started trembling. Seconds, minutes, hours. Suspended between them. Between his choice and yours. Memories, moments, an entire history. Stuck between them. Between his choice and yours. Questions, doubts, fears. Settling between them. Silence.