What would we do if we could reverse everything we don't like in life? What if the reversal is so unknown that we can't be assured whether the results would be positive or negative? In this third episode of The Price of Life, Lauren Kirk-Cohen takes us into that uncertain reality…

...Continues from The Price of Life II

I can feel my knees trembling. Eric's voice seems to come from far away.

“Do it,” he says.

The sorceress’ reply is clearer, “I cannot. Clara is the one with the magic. Only she can give it back.

Eric's hands are shaking my shoulders, “Clara, you have to do it!”

I stare dumbly at him as his face comes into focus, “You’ll die.”

“If you don’t do it, everyone else will die! My parents, yours, your sister, everyone. You have to do it, Clara.”

My head is spinning. After everything I went through to save Eric, this can’t be it, there must be some other option.

“There must be another way to fix this,” I whisper.

The sorceress looks sincerely sorry for me as she shakes her head. “I take no pleasure in the death of dozens of people. If I knew a way to save them, I would. Had I known the price would be so heavy, I never would have given you the magic you asked for.”

I can’t bear to look at Eric. I know I have no choice; I’ve known since the second she told me the only way to save everything and everyone. Eric would never forgive me if I let everyone die just for him. I would never forgive myself, never be able to look myself in the mirror again.

“How long?” I ask, and my voice comes out flat and dead. “How long do we have before they start dying?”

“A few hours,” the sorceress says. “Use that time to say goodbye. Come to me, then, and I will tell you what to do.”

I feel Eric taking my hand and pulling me out, into the shelter of the nearby trees. I am surprised to find that I am not crying. I feel like someone has pulled all my insides out at once; there is nothing left in me to cry.

“Clara…” I don’t let Eric finish, but throw my arms around him. When our lips meet, the tears finally come. They don’t stop for a long time.

We treasure every minute of our few hours, but finally, we know it is time. The process seems too easy; it shouldn’t be easy to condemn Eric to death. She says some magic words, and at one point asks me if this is of my own free will. I say yes in that numb, dead voice.

I know it has worked when Eric coughs violently, doubling over in pain. I lock the wail in my throat, trying to be strong for him. I only need be strong for a few more hours; after he is gone, it doesn’t matter what I do anymore.

I hold his hand, whispering words of love and comfort, trying to help him through it as best as I can. A gasp behind me has me looking up. The sorceress is staring at something over my head, her face a picture of shock and alarm. I turn to see what she is looking at, but I never get the chance. The world stands still.

I feel Eric's chest pause before it falls, frozen in time. The sorceress doesn’t so much as blink. It’s as though they’ve been turned to stone. Before I can as much as yell, white light is surrounding me.

I jump up and look frantically for Eric. I can’t leave him, not now when his time is so close.

There is a figure in flowing robes heading towards me. I squint against the bright light. I seem to be in a shining bubble. I can see nothing but the light, and the figure.

As she gets closer, I frown in concentration. I’ve seen her somewhere before. At least, she looks familiar.

“Clara,” she says, spreading her arms as if in welcome.

“Where am I?” I demand, “Send me back!”

“You are in a bubble between moments,” the figure says. “Don’t worry, when you get back, not a second will have passed.”

I remember how everything seemed to freeze for a moment before I was taken… wherever this is. Still, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to get back to Eric right now.

The figure seems to read my mind. “You will be back soon enough, once I have spoken with you. Sit. We have much to discuss.”

Almost against my will, I find myself sinking down onto the bright light, which cradles me like a comfy, worn chair.

“Why am I here?” I ask.

She smiles, “You are here because you have changed everything.”

My heart flips in dread. Was it too late to save everyone from my village? Are they all to die anyway?

The figure is smiling, though. 

“What have I changed?” I ask cautiously.

Her face lights up as she whispers, leaning closer, “The fabric of reality.”

Concludes with Price of Life IV

For more of Lauren's writings, visit her at 

Lauren Kirk-Cohen's Blog