She lived a life that some would describe as being on edge.
Reckless, they called her. An irresponsible mother.
They never spoke when she was being beaten every day. She only heard crickets those nights she went to bed with a black eye, woke up the next morning too sore to bend her body or sit in the tub and heal her wounds in water and suds.
They testified on his behalf when she filed for custody. She had no job, she left a surgeon, a good man. There was no evidence of such abuse. Where were the police reports?
Their daughter collected coins with custom backs. Quarters for all fifty states. Nickels paying homage to the old frontier. The bottom of the wishing well was littered with coins, none like these. She pressed the five cent buffalos against her closed eyelids, lay in the shallow blue water as the sprinkles from the fountain rained down on her, and wished for Emily.
word count: 150
—Nortina
Mondays Finish the Story: a flash fiction challenge where we provide you with a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. Your challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided.
Lovely Curses 
Well done. But so sad the truth found in it!
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Very sad, but often true. I hope it all comes out and she gets her daughter back. Well done, Nortina. Sorry to hear you’ve been ill. I hope you’re feeling much better now. — Suzanne
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Wonderful, yet sad story. I had assumed that Emily was her daughter and I read in the comments where she is. This story sounds like it could so easily be true instead of fiction. I hope she gets her daughter back.
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What’s sad is that it very well could be true for some women. Thankfully, this story is only fiction.
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Captivating and well written.
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Thanks, Helen!
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Very interesting story. It is a mystery about who is Emily and what happened to her.
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Emily is her daughter. I had another paragraph in there about her, but I had to cut it. Those darn word counts! Lol.
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I know it is hard! I hope Emily is still living. I have often thought that it is heart breaking for the mother when their child is taken away. Especially terrible when the father is an abuser.
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It’s a tough situation to be in, and sometimes it feels like the mother just can’t win. But all dark deeds will come to light eventually, and when that happens, she’ll get Emily back 🙂
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That sounds great! 🙂
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Tell you what, if you wrote this with a headache, I’m beyond impressed. I love the poetic qualities of the prose and the final image. Fantastic writing!
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Thanks! It was hard, but I managed to squeeze this one out. I’m glad the painkillers are finally starting to kick in, though
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