--- The Next Future ---

entry for The Adam West Conspiracy 12/2025

I have been many things in my life. a child, a student, a mother, homeless. Each time my life has shifted, it has come without fanfare or instructions. But this time I wanted to enter my future to the sound of cheering crowds and a ticker-tape parade. That was my hope. I ate from garbage cans, slept in as sheltered a place as I could.

My husband and I had not separated on good terms. With my depression, it didn't take much for him to gain full custody. He had taken the children and left the state. That just drove me deeper into depression. My days were dim and without hope. I was evicted, and that is how I came to my life on the streets.

I spent a lot of time at the park, watching children play, until the day that I saw a strange man trying to walk away with a child that I knew didn't belong to him. Her mother was busy with a younger sibling. The little girl became distressed. My motherly instinct screamed out, and I ran towards them. He picked up the girl and started to run. She kicked him in the shins, and he fell onto the girl. I reached them and kicked him in the gut to get him off of the girl. He scrambled off. I scooped up the little girl and checked her out.

By this time, the mother had gotten the attention of a police officer about her missing daughter. The officer found me comforting the child. He instructed me to put her down. Before I knew it, I was in cuffs. The little girl began crying again, "No, she saved me from the bad man!"

It took me being booked for attempted kidnapping for me to feel I had reached the bottom of the pit my life had become. I sat in custody for fourteen hours. It was two meals and a warm, dry bed, and a clean orange outfit. I awoke in the morning to the officer opening my cell. "Come on, charges have been dropped."

I was given back my ragged clothes and released from jail. Outside waited the little girl and her mother. "I am so sorry about that." She gestured towards the jail. "It took us some time to get the story straight from our daughter and to convince the police. They checked the CCTV. They recognized the man as a convicted pedophile. He wasn't even supposed to be anywhere near the park. I want to thank you for going after them. If you hadn't stopped him, I dread to think what would have happened to my daughter."

"It is no problem. I got fed and a warm bed."

"May I ask why you are in the situation you are in?"

"Debilitating depression, my husband has custody of the kids and took them across the country. I just..."

"Yet you cared enough and knew enough to help keep my daughter safe. I have been preparing to return to work. My husband and I were planning on hiring a nanny. Would you be interested in a job and a place to stay?"

I froze, blinking at her. I looked down at my tattered, filthy clothing and eyed her suspiciously. "You want me to take care of your kids?"

"I trust you! Let's go get you some clothes, then we can head home."

I ran my hand over my matted hair, "Thank you?"

"You deserve good things. You saved my child!"

No real fanfare, but a new future for me had arrived.

596 words

prompt ▼

The Adam West Conspiracy

FORUM

The Adam West Conspiracy  (13+) Short Story Contest #2339870 by Jeffrey Meyer

Here's the list of titles for December 2025; please reply with your entry by midnight on December 31

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December 2025 TITLES

--- An Artisan of Genes ---
--- Business Knows No Gods ---
--- Choreography on the Bed ---
--- A Harem of Memories ---
--- The Next Future ---
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Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!!


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BONUS CHALLENGE

It's December, a special time. Let's add an extra challenge again,
but break the classic December motif, and go for something meatier:

You will receive an
--- Extra 2,000 gift points ---
if your story is centered around homelessness,
whether you a winner, runner-up, or neither!