FLASH FICTION FRIDAY: The Monster Returns, by Dan Metcalf

We wait at the docks for the ship to come in, my mother's hand in mine - red, white and blue in the other. A tour of duty is nine months, just long enough for the bruises to heal, for her to forget his true nature, but not long enough for me to forgive.

The boat docks, the band plays, and expectant children run to their fathers, spared the indignity of a flag-covered coffin. I wait. I grip my mother's hand tightly.

“This time it'll be different, pet,” she says. She lies.

I see his face and know I should feel love, but I feel nothing. He extends his arms for a hug, and I dutifully obey.

The Monster has returned.

* * *

Based on a writing prompt from Jenn Daugherty https://twitter.com/SweetAssUnicorn Thanks, Jenn!

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