Michael woke up just as the alarm rang. Quickly he turned it off and grabbed his glasses by the small night table. It was still dark outside, and he had half an hour to get ready for work. He glanced to his right and was glad to see that the alarm did not wake up his wife Lisa. With a smile he touched her shoulder. She murmured something and turned around. “Morning.”
“Morning,” he returned.
“Do you want some breakfast before you go to work?”
“What did you have in mind?” Michael asked.
“Eggs and toast.”
“All right.” He kissed her forehead. “Sounds great. I’m going to get the mail.” With another smile he grabbed his clothes and put them on. A few minutes later he walked carefully down the steps so that he wouldn’t wake up his two children.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as he stepped outside the house. It was probably going to be a sunny day. Not that he would really notice-he would have to spend most of it working at the bank. With a shake of his head Michael opened the mailbox.

There was nothing inside except for a small, folded white note. Michael took it out and opened it. The note was blank except for an embossed symbol of a black sun. As soon as he saw the symbol, it felt like someone had punched him in the gut. The note slipped from his pale fingers and fell to the grass below. Michael glanced to the left and right, but could only see a few people getting their mail. Three houses down a boy was preparing a paper route. There was no one approaching him, or even looking at him.

Michael bent down and took the note with a still-trembling hand. He glanced at the symbol again, just to make sure it was real. Then, with a small cry, he ripped up the note and tossed the shreds into the mailbox.

Lisa noticed a change as soon as he entered the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Michael whispered. “Forget breakfast. I’ve...ah, gotta got to work.”
Quickly he grabbed his jacket and kissed each member of his family goodbye. For Lisa it was an extra-long kiss. Then, he left in his car and drove away.

•

After being on the road for a few minutes, he took out his cell phone and with a shaking hand dialed his lawyer’s number.
“Hello?” a male voice said.
“Tory, it’s me,” Michael said.
“Oh, hey Michael. What’s up?”
“I don’t have a lot of time,” Michael said. “Listen, I got a black sun in the mail.”
“A black sun?” Tory echoed. “Jesus Christ. What did you do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you...talk to the wrong people? Did you-”
“I don’t know!” Michael shrieked. “You’re my lawyer, Tory. Help me.”
There was a surprised pause on the other end. “I’m....not sure I can, Michael. No lawyer has
ever contested a black sun. By the time they get a process going, it’s well...too late.”
Michael burst into tears. He couldn’t help it. “Don’t do this to me, Tory. Please.”
“Are you in your car? Get off the road, mate. You’re in no condition to be driving right now. Look, you got it in this morning’s mail, right? That gives you twenty-four hours. I’ve got connections. I’ll talk to some people and see what the hell’s going on.”
“Okay,” Michael said.
“Michael....” Tory began, and hesitated. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

Michael ended the call and kept driving until he reached the bank. With a slight tremble he got out of the car and smoothed out his business suit. His coworkers were shocked to see him. As soon as he stepped through the sliding doors his boss, Elizabeth, immediately intercepted him. “What are you doing here?”
“Trying to work,” Michael replied.
“We all know about the black sun. It’s on your record. This is the last place you should be.”
Michael looked away, refusing to meet her eyes.
“Michael?” Elizabeth gently touched his shoulder. “If you want to talk about a benefits package, we can step into my office-”
Michael threw off her arm. “Benefits?” he snapped. “What I want...” He looked around the bank, but no one would return his stare. “What I want is for someone to talk to me like I’m still alive.” Angrily he stormed out of the bank.

As soon as he returned to the car Michael tried to call Tory, but all he got was a busy signal.
“Where are you?” he snapped. True, it had been only ten minutes since he had called, but for him every second was precious.
Michael’s eyes narrowed. Screw Tory. He had to run. It was his only chance.

•

Fifty minutes later he was standing at the airport. Fortunately it was early enough that the line-up was not long.
A receptionist with pretty blond hair smiled at him. “Hello, sir. Where is your destination?”
“Tokyo,” Michael replied. It didn’t really matter where he was going, but Tokyo was a good a place as any other.
The receptionist keyed in his passport numbers, and a negative beep answered back. “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t process your flight ticket. Looks like you have a black sun on your record.”
“No,” Michael said. “You don’t understand. There’s been a big mistake.”
“I understand perfectly, sir,” the receptionist replied blankly. “He gave you this time to sort out your affairs.” She leaned forwards. “Besides, sir, others have tried to run. It tends to be worse for them in the end.” The receptionist gave him a wink.
Michael stared at her in astonishment. Then, with a shake of his head he snatched back his passport.
For the next few hours he drove aimlessly in a daze. Finally he arrived at city square. Michael got out of his car and slumped next to the fountain. It was turning into a sunny day without a cloud in the sky. He could see several children walking to school, and street vendors starting to get set up. Michael stared at all of them without any emotion.
Suddenly his cell phone rang. Michael snatched it from his pocket. “Hello?”
“It’s me,” Tory said. “I found something. Can we meet?”
“Yeah,” Michael said. “There’s a Starbucks in city square. Do you know where that is?”
“Yeah,” Tory said. “I’ll be right there.”
The cell phone clicked off. Michael closed his eyes and released a trembling breath. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

•

For half an hour Michael fidgeted impatiently at the coffee house. A few minutes more and Tory finally arrived. The young lawyer’s face was incredibly haggard. He sat down next to Michael and ordered a coffee.
“Rough day?” Michael had to ask.
“Nothing like yours,” Tory replied, taking off his jacket and scarf.
“So you have something for me?” Michael asked.
“Yeah,” Tory said, and Michael had a feeling it was not news he wanted to hear. “Michael, do you remember two weeks ago you went to this comedy club? For a coworker’s birthday party?”
“Yeah,” Michael said blankly. “So?”
“I gather you were pretty drunk that night,” Tory continued as a coffee was set down on the table. “According to my source, you took the stage and said some very controversial things. About the government.”
Michael favored him with a are-you-kidding look. “I was a hit,” he said.
“You were, but not to the right people.”
“So that’s it? That’s the reason why I’m being targeted? Come on, Tory-I’m not a terrorist making bombs in my basement! I was drunk and I made a mistake!” His finger thudded against the table to illustrate his point.
“Have you told Lisa yet?” Tory asked.
“No,” Michael said. “What about this guy who’s after me?”
Tory shrugged. “No one knows who he is, or how he strikes. But I gather...that it’s painless.”
Michael fought a mad urge to laugh. Instead he cleared his throat and looked down. “All right. So what are we going to do?”
There was a long pause. “About what?” Tory asked blankly.
“About my situation!” Michael exploded. “How do we stop this?”
“There’s nothing we can do,” Tory said.
“You’re my lawyer, aren’t you? Do something!” Michael shouted.
“What year do you think this is, anyway?” Tory asked. “Lawyers handle small claims only. We have no control over government affairs. I just thought you wanted to know the reasons why you’re going to die.” He looked down. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more I can do.”
Another pause. Then, with a ragged cry Michael lifted the table. It overturned and fell on Tory, who collapsed to the floor. Two cups of coffee splashed against the lawyer’s face. This was the first time Michael had been violent with anyone, but he was too angry to care.“You bastard,” he whispered.

Miraculously, Tory’s face was calm. “Why are you mad at me, Michael? You shouldn’t even waste your time being here! You need to spend it with your family!” He grabbed a napkin and wiped his face. “It’s your last day with them, after all.”
Michael stared at him for a long moment. Then, he turned and ran out of the coffee house. He d didn’t stop running until he reached his house. Realizing that he had forgotten his keys, he knocked on the door.
Lisa was considerably surprised to see him. “Michael! What is it?”
“Nothing,” Michael replied, gasping for breath. “Work just decided to give me the day off. With pay. I was thinking....maybe we could go to the park? With the kids?”

•

Tory was right, in the end. It was a time to be with his family. Emily, his three-year-old daughter, trotted unsteadily along the grass and giggled as soon as she, saw a butterfly. Michael played baseball with his other child, Jason. His son was old enough to realize that something was going on. That just made Michael cling onto him even more. On the park bench Lisa smiled as they played. This was the first time the entire family had spent an actual day together.

After they left the park, the family had a final meal. Later that evening, when Michael was alone, he updated his will in the study. He did this with a calm precision. Everything would go to Lisa and the kids. With a smile he sealed the envelope and put it back into the safe.
Lisa knocked on the door. “The kids are tucked away in bed. I think it’s time we do the same.”
“Hang on,” Michael said, gripping her hands. “We’re not done yet.” With that, he kissed her on the lips, a kiss that was slowly returned.
Both of them proceeded to the bedroom, and made love to each other.

“That....was amazing,” Lisa murmured afterwards. She glanced at the time. “Ouch. You’re not going to have a lot of sleep before work.”
“Let me worry about that,” Michael said, giving her another kiss on the forehead.
“Okay,” Lisa whispered. She closed her eyes and was instantly asleep.

Michael waited a few more minutes to make sure she was fully asleep before glancing at the time. He sighed and got out of bed. The first thing he did was visit his son’s room. He gave the eight-year a firm kiss on the cheek before proceeded to his little daughter’s room. It looked like Elizabeth was having bad dreams. With a smile he tucked the blanket around her tighter, gave her a final kiss, and went downstairs to the living room.

Michael sat down in his comfortable rocker. To his right on a small stand was a pen and paper. He wrote down a final note to his family. He took his time with the note, making sure that everything was perfect. Then, Michael leaned back in the chair. It was such a perfect day, and he wouldn’t have given it up for anything. Time passed. Michael suddenly felt a shadow move behind him. He didn’t turn to look and stared at his fish tank instead. “My wife is going to be pregnant again,” he said. “What do you think-boy or girl?”

There was no reply. Michael felt two hands touch as neck, as soft as velvet. There was a loud crack, and Michael leaned back in his chair, his blue eyes starring lifelessly ahead. And that was all.

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