Father’s Day – A 100 Word Story (WARNING: DARK.)

storytime.pngYup, it’s flash fiction time again! As always, this is based around Laurence Simon’s weekly challenge for the 100 word-stories podcast. It’s a great exercise for writers – writing a good drabble is a lot harder than it appears, but is still a "small" task so you can get around that idea of it being too much work. And then you get a random (and often bizarre) writing prompt to shoehorn you out of writer’s block! Go read the rules for the Weekly Challenge and participate!
The player below should have the audio for this week; if it doesn’t, you can find the audio here to download. You can also read and hear the rest of the entries (and vote for your favorites) at the 100 Word Stories podcast site!

Father’s Day

I pull the card from the pile of paper and read it.

"I’m sorry I lied to you, Dad." It is a heart cut from notebook paper.

Fucking appropriate. I crumple the yellowed sheet.

I don’t remember the child in the school pictures. That kid’s gone.

I remember the times my son attacked me. The times he bit, kicked, struck me as I held him, whispering I loved him while waiting for the police to arrive.

I remember finding the knife he said he’d kill us with.

I read this year’s "Happy Father’s Day" cards and try not to die.

No, I’m not talking about Chris the Nuclear Kid. Context here. Yes, I’m fine. Thanks. It’s only mostly true.