With the cold sharp edges, I remove layer after layer of the brown skin. Due to it being more round, I have to slice at it a bit more than the previous addition to our meal.
Even though we’re meat eaters, I understand that this part’s necessary for the meal as a whole.
Next up, I bring forth a steel pyramid with a variety of ways to skin a cat. I put the cone shape part of our meal against the cold heart of the kitchen utensil.
With slight force, I let a sharp edge pierce the skin. A form of juice-like substance shoots the back of my hand.
As a man I almost gag at this type of work, but it’s too late to turn back now. I know what I signed up for, and I have to see it through or else my father’s eyes will continue to look down on me.
I need to show him that not only am I willing help in the family business, I’m more than ready to do the little things that none of my siblings want to do.
All for the good of the family.
I quicken my pace. The more faster I go, the smaller the product becomes. It gets less and less and this is when my fingers become shorter and shorter.
A few of them have fallen into the collection below me, and I don’t notice it until I hear, “Daniel!” My mommy’s reaction triggers my awareness to the horrific turn of events. “Your fingers!”
“What?” I stop and present my hand in front of me as if trying to look at my fingerless nails. I expect there to only be two fingers remaining with the way my mommy reacts. “Ouch!” I’m still conscious of my dad’s presence when I finally let it out, “You mother-father!”
It’s as if the carrot fought back, yet it has the decency to leave my skin intact. Like a lift-the-flap upgrade to my finger, the skin hides the damage from the world. It presents itself as a hidden volcano with the blood inheriting the role of the hot smoking lava. Without a doubt, it’s the reason why my hand feels like flaming fire.
“Your language,” threatens my dad.
His eyes, overflowing with disappointment, are on my wound. To him, my mommy and I are making a fuss over a mere paper cut.
. . .
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One Terrible Day (Short Stories)
Short StoryJason finds himself in the police station after his ex-girlfriend is run over by a bus. A man struggles to tell his date what he does for a living. A rich man can't seem to understand why women only date him for his money, so he asks Siri. These are...
