STRICT PARENTS

I walked into the ninja themed store at the shops and the two young men who worked there tossed ninja shuriken stars back and forth like frisbees.

One boy carelessly tossed a star, missed the target, and injured a customer in the leg.

This brought disgrace to the boy and to his family too.

The following day, to make amends, the boy’s parents brought him back to the shop, cut into pieces with his body parts in boxes.

 

KILLNG THE FOUNDING FATHERS

Reymundo and I left the mall and walked down the marble steps.

It was as if we were at the US Capitol Building when wraith-like stone sculptures of the Founding Fathers suddenly came to life and impeded our way.

Thankfully, Reymundo and I both carried military grade assault rifles and we shot them all down.

Even though the Founding Fathers were ghosts and made of stone they still bled—their remains now a bloody rubble.

 

OLD TESTAMENT

A man spoke to his two sons.

The father was Old Testament stern—severe like Deuteronomy (21:18-21).

He favored the younger son, a charming boy loved by all. The elder, a rebellious teenager, ran with a crew, huffed glue, and drank tall cans. King Cobra.

The younger son died and on the day of the burial, the surviving son’s face was flushed red from tears and drink.

“It should have been you that died,” his dad told him.

The words didn’t surprise yet they pierced the boy—down to his marrow.

The father then gestured toward a man in uniform who stood at the top of a steep hill, and I considered whether this was the undertaker or the gravedigger.

My heart hit the ground when I finally realized: my father intended to bury both his sons on the same day.

 

CAKE FOR DOGS

We were at my friend’s house, shooting paintball when my mom barged into the backyard.

She stood there looking all snooty and said, “You deserve a visit from your mother.”

I was embarrassed in front of all my friends and all I could think to say was “Yeah, maybe I do.”

“I brought you some cake,” my mom said as she held out a plate with a thick slice of yellow cake and chocolate frosting on top.

She then set the cake on the ground and my friend’s three German Shepherds rushed towards it in a blur.

I did what I could to keep the beasts away, but I eventually gave up.

Bewildered by her cruelty, my friends and I looked on as the dogs ate my cake.