Orlando Fernandez

Destinies Terminated: Why Did They Die? Orlando Fernandez

These short stories surfaced within my head each time I had the occasion to read published reports of a parent, or parents, who happened to slaughter his, her, or their offspring. It seemed as if every time one turned on the television, picked up a newspaper or magazine, the one story to catch one's attention was about the death of an innocent child at the hand of a parent. Each time I wondered as to who that child would have been or what he or she could have accomplished. It saddened me to think that a human life had just been extinguished without having been given a chance to excel in life. The more I read or heard, the more I pondered the idea of giving each child his or her chance to show what he or she would have been. I purposely chose to portray the positive possibilities and decided not to dwell on the things that could be construed as negative. Each child's short-lived beginning was already too short and too negative. I hope that these short stories bring to light and instill in all who read them what a great loss a child's passing is for all of us. The world may never know what each child's contribution to humanity would have been, or what ailments and human ills they would have eradicated. It is with hope that this book may, even though fictional, somehow bestow credence to their brief lives.