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Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Dragon
Tied Down and Out
“You couldn’t leave if you wanted.” She punctuated that with a dish hurled at my head. Then a glass. Then another dish. An angry ellipsis of cheap kitchenware from Pricebusters.
“Where you gonna go?” She searched for something else to throw. “Awilda? Ku’uipo? No one else gonna put up with your crap.” The houseplant! “You damaged goods, brah.” A comet tail of soil darkened the air before terracotta met my forehead.
I came to with her crying over me. “I'm sorry, William. I'm so sorry.”
She was right, though. I wanted to leave. But there I was, wiping her tears.
I love this, Rich!! Tons of imagery and story conveyed in so few words. So well done.
How common that the abused is called to comfort the abuser…love the comet image. Mahalo, Rich.
Thank you! 🙂
Like, "The houseplant!" as it conveys a larger thought than those two words. Also like your use of italics, as though he's exclaiming it in his head.