A Short Story: Lex Talionis (The Law of Retaliation)

Author’s Note: The short story below is the eleventh in an ongoing series. If you’ve been following along, you know that I received a treasure trove of writing prompts a few months back and have been using them as a source of creative inspiration. The process is pretty simple: I take two cards, blend them together, and write whatever comes to mind. This week’s topic: “Person with a grudge” and “Anniversary.” Fair warning: it’s a dark one! Read on and enjoy! And, if the mood strikes, feel free to take a crack at your own story in the comments based on this combo!

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Max Lagrange kicked at the loose dirt around the edges of a headstone. It had been three years since his daughter had been ripped away from him and it didn’t get any easier. In fact, it got harder.

“I miss you so much, Evie.” He knelt on the grass to replace last week’s flowers with a new bouquet, hands shaking as he reached across her grave. “Every day. Every single moment.”

It was a beautiful spring morning, not unlike the day three years ago when his world turned upside-down. The sun’s warmth against his face, a distant lawnmower buzzing across an open field, and the faint squeal of a child’s laugh somewhere in the distance. The cemetery butted up against a ball field and he could just barely make out the image of…