“Why you ain’t in school?” Pa uses the doorjamb to hold himself up.
“Spring Break.”
“You’re fat.” He slings the empty 40 toward my head. I dodge at the last second, and the glass shatters against the wall behind me. “Gonna take a leak,” he slurs then stumbles pigeon-toed through the front door of our trailer.
Will he bother to remove the flowers? Or will he soil her grave with his stream? She’s lucky she’ll never grow to learn what “Spread ’em!” actually means.
“She’s better off dead,” Becky said when we buried her. “He didn’t even know you were pregnant.”
word count: 100
—Nortina
Friday Fictioneers challenges you to write a story in 100 words or less using the provided photo prompt as inspiration. Click the froggy icon to ready other stories and add your own.
The horror creeps up line by line. Excellent writing. I don’t think there were less cases like this in the past, people ‘minded their own business’ and didn’t want to see.
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Oh my..this made me a little sick to my stomach.
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It’s quite the disturbing story.
Thanks for reading.
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Oh gods – this is appalling and so well written.
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Thanks for reading!
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That’s a terrible story, and I mean that in the best way possible. It hurts my heart just to think that someone could something so heinous.
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It’s disgusting to think that a girl’s childhood could be snatched away like this, especially by her own father. Sadly this could be very true for some girls.
Thanks for reading.
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Incredible how you packed so much tragedy into such a short tale.
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This is shocking and sobering to read. Stories like this are becoming more and more common and they are not fabricated. It is a harsh reality we live in.
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You’re right . . . though, I do wish stories like this were just products of an author’s wild imagination.
Thank you for reading.
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So do I.
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Haunting and well written
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Thanks for reading!
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Wow…powerful story.
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Thanks!
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Well, this is an absolutely amazing thing to read. The impact it has is incredibly high emotionally. Beautiful writing 🙂
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Thanks Angie!
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Disturbing! Good job.
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Tragic, painful and disturbing to read , it is a very strong piece.
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I probably use the word “great” too often and in most cases undeservedly. Not in this case. This was a great story, Nortina. The emotional impact was powerful. Well done.
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Thanks so much!
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Tragic and quite sinister
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Very true indeed. One has to wonder if things will ever change for her..
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Filled with pain and sorrow, very moving!
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Thank you, and thanks for reading!
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Harsh tragic story. Poor girl losing her baby. Poor girl having to put up with her lousy Pa. You are right in the story I think, the baby is better off. Great job conveying some graphic stuff!
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Thanks, Mandi! It’s hard to even fathom that someone like this could actually happen. Sadly, I’ve heard stories, and it only breaks my heart.
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What a most tragically told story. I have to admit I had to reread many times wondering who Becky was only to realise that it doesn’t really matter, does it?
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Becky could be a friend, sister, cousin, maybe even imaginary (like Quasimodo’s gargoyles)… I guess it doesn’t really matter. She’s someone who “sees” our innocent victim when no one else does.
Thanks for reading!
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That’s what I realised…eventually!
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Gosh, so sad. GREAT story, Nortina.
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Thanks, PJ!
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Is it ok not to like… Great writing, but very sad.
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Perfectly ok! It’s hard to “like” a story so sad.
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Very powerful and appropriately thought provoking!
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Thank you, Graham!
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Great piece – very sad.
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A very sad story of a lonely girl. Thanks for reading!
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That was a shocker of a last line. Well done!
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Yea, when I saw the toilet in the photo, it just came to me. Thanks for reading!
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Such a tragic story. Well done.
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Thanks Sandra!
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