STORY STARTER
Submitted by Ellipsis
'…and all they could do was cry.'
Write a short story that ends with this as the final line.
Tragedy
She was an archaeologist. He was her assistant. They were husband and wife, and had a small child. Once the child was old enough they took him along on their expeditions, journeying far and wide, uncovering ancient curiosities. It was all they ever wanted.
They planned to teach their son one day. He was still too little now, so they let him play around the sites. One such site was some unidentified ruins in a deep, thick forest. It was very far away from any towns or settlements, which made it all the more exciting. But in their excitement they lost track of their son.
They searched for days, for weeks, for months, the ruins long forgotten. They never found him. Perhaps they would have, if the tiger hadn't found them. With no weapons their last hope was an escape through some unexplored tunnels- but the tunnels were a dead end. They were cornered by the angry tiger, knowing their missing son would never be found, and all they could do was cry.