The Laugh

A Story by H.L. Pauff

Written for Five Sentence Fiction

Staring outside at the bright blue sky and at the lush green grass blowing in the wind, a wave of sadness overcame him as a happy memory invaded his mind.

The joyful laughter of his wife warmed him more than the sun on that day the two of them sat in the grass and looked up at the sky, debating whether the cloud looked like a miniature hippo or a sailboat.

What he wouldn’t give to see her again, to sit in the grass with her and to hear that wonderful, joyous laugh that he missed so dearly.

It was the laugh that he first fell in love with, the laugh that he knew he could never stifle and certainly never harm.

“I’m innocent!” he screamed in rage, his voice echoing off the cold, gray concrete walls of his cell.