Choices

“Which present do you want? The big one or the small one? You can only have one, I'll burn the other.” The little girl thought a moment, and decided it must be a trick. The small box might have the best present. Knowing her uncle she wouldn't put it past him to try and trick her like that. She chose the small box. Inside was a beautiful golden locket covered in small gemstones.

She felt sure that she had chosen correctly. Her uncle then opened the big box and revealed the other present. It was a puppy, tied up and muzzled to keep it quiet. The little girl looked on in horror as she realized what he was about to do with it. She begged and pleaded with him not to burn it, offering to give back the locket and give him anything else he wanted as well.

But her uncle refused,  only saying she'd made her choice and now she'd have to live with it. “Besides.” he said as he left the room. “At least you'll always have the picture to remember him by.” As he locked the door she opened the locket for the first time. Inside was an oval shaped picture of her sweet little would-be puppy. She heard the puppy's frightened barks as her uncle removed the muzzle. He poured gasoline into a box, then lit a match and started the fire. He could hear his niece's sobbing coming from her room as he dropped the puppy into the fire.

The girl's fitful sobbing continued even after she'd heard the last of the puppy's agonized screams. She sat in the corner weeping as she replayed the scenario over and over again in her head, wishing she'd chosen the big box.  The sound's he'd made went on and on forever in her head.