Flash Fiction

A Strong Conscience
Bronwyn Opie

The basement is cold. But not any colder than the bitter, winter air outside the house. The stairs creak as I step down on them. The itchy quilt in my arms seems heavier than it used to be. I'm getting too old for this. I knock twice and there is no reply. But I'm used to this. These men and women still don't trust me completely. My skin resembles those who stole them from their beds as children, sold them to strangers, starved them, and slashed their bare backs. Why should they ever trust a white person again?
"I'm coming in."
I inch the door open to see two young women crouched in the darkness of the basement cellar.
"I have a blanket for you. You don't mind sharing, do you? Of course you don't."
I place the quilt on the floor just inside the door and start to leave. Then-
"Thank you." The taller of the two women spoke with quiet caution but definite courage on her tongue.
I nod at her. Pause for a moment in the doorway, then leave.
After I put the water on to boil, I collapse on the small rocking chair.
Never in my many years has one of them thanked me, I realize. I can hear her words in my ears over and over. Thank you... Thank you... Thank you....
I'm not complaining for their lack of verbal gratitude. That's not the reason I help them. But... what is that reason then?
There is not another person for miles in my town who would even consider letting a coloured person through their front door. So why do I think so differently than them? Why is their wrong, my right? And their right, my wrong?

Reflection
This story reflects at least one side of my tapestry concept. 'The conscience of a hero' The woman who is hiding the two young African-American women has a strong conscience that directly influences her actions. The factors that influenced her decision to make a heroic act are unknown, I'm not sure that she even knows why she does it when she says, "So why do I think so differently than them?" But her conscience is so strong that it contradicts what everyone else in her town, and in most of the country, is saying. She acts using her conscience as a guide. But the conscience of someone else in the town who is against Civil rights, has a weak conscience that doesn't have a voice against racism. This is assuming that all consciences have the same 'morals' or views on rightness and wrongness.