Tag: family

  • No Decision Here

    “There is no decision here.  You will not leave.  You will not leave this house.  This is your future.  Our family is your future.”  My father stood over me and I wondered how I would survive if I stayed under his roof for one more night.  My creativity was stifled by a man who didn’t…

  • Truly Sorry

    “He told me he was sorry, but after what he has done, how can I believe him?  How can I ever believe our father ever again?”  I stared at the lake and wanted my sister to say something.    I knew she wanted our father to go back to being the father of our childhood, but…

  • The Photograph, part 2

    (If you missed part one, check it out here!) As the days and weeks passed, I could see my uncle was not paying attention waning. He didn’t think I was going to get revenge, but he didn’t realize how patient I could be. Especially when it came to payback. I knew exactly how I was…

  • A Magical Time

    I had never had a better or more magical time than when I went camping with my family,  There was a freedom in the air and the cool breeze kept tempers at an all-time low.  I never have been close to my father because he would fly off the handle at any given moment.  Except…

  • Remember Haiku

  • Accessories

    I had always been obsessed with accessories.  I wore bracelets.  I wore barrettes.  I wore earrings.  My parents were always trying to get me to tone it down, but after a while, they quietly gave up.  There was no use.  Maybe I used accessories to distract everyone from what was really bothering me, but I…

  • Just Like Mama Made It 

    “I made it just like mama made it,” I said softly to Mary.  I slid the plate in front of her and prayed she would eat.  I wasn’t sure she had eaten anything in the last forty-eight hours.  I packed away as I watched her had reach toward her fork and I paused as her…

  • Screaming

    I heard the screaming even before I made it out of the car. Really before I had made it to the top of the driveway. I knew it was my aunt and I had a fairly good idea of what was happening. She had probably found her artwork missing and under no circumstance was I…

  • The Firefighter

    I had been in love with firefighters since I was in kindergarten. It was the first time I had been rescued from a house fire. Since then, I have been rescued eight more times (but who was really counting?) Not every fire had been my fault, but I moved often enough no one in an…

  • Attorney’s Advice

    “Every phone call I got from him was bizarre.  Honestly, I got to the point where I just didn’t answer the phone if I didn’t recognize the number because I knew it was him.”  I stared at the attorney begging him to not ask any more questions.  I knew what he wanted to ask and I…