Prompt: Everyone remembers their past lives, up to ten generations back. Some can remember fifty lives back. You are the only person who can’t remember anything.
“I was so many things, I don’t know what to do now,” Greg says, standing in the living room. “What did you do when you realized you had this power, dad?”
“Forgot,” I say, setting down the newspaper. Sit up. “Everything.”
“Forgot? What do you mean?”
“Everyone can remember, but no one realizes they can forget, too.”
“Why would you want that, even do it? This power—”
“Is amazing, I know. So many past lives, so many stories, so many memories, but mine… Mine weren’t worth remembering, if I recall right.”
He adjusts his stance, shifting weight to the other leg. “So you just forgot, everything?”
I nod. “Yup, except for this life. Those are the things worth remembering: the present.”
“But what happens when you’re reborn? Will you choose to forget this present life, then?”
Smart kid. I glance at the framed photos on the wall. My wife and I during out wedding, our honeymoon. The day we bought the house; the day we brought Greg home from the hospital. His first birthday… “No,” I say. “I don’t think so. This one’s a good one.”
Read my previous prompt, “Falling Off the Blood Wagon“
Read more of my writing prompts here.
Check out my bibliography for more of my work.
Micah Castle 