Published March 7, 2020
“Did you do it or not?”
Here she goes again. Now she’ll start staring with those really dark eyes.
How does she do that? How does she generate so much authority just through her eyes?
Shit! Can’t do this any longer. You win, mom.
“Yes, I did it.”
***
I think my head’s spinning. I really think my head’s spinning.
How long has it been? Five seconds? Maybe ten?
Need to give up. Give up, David. Just give up.
“No. I-I didn’t do it today.”
What? Did I just say that?
“Are you sure? Don’t lie to mom.”
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!
You can still back away, David. You can still admit it and apologize. This isn’t out of your hands yet.
Damn it, can’t back away now.
“I’m perfectly sure.”
She’s frowning. She’s checking me. Be brave, David.
Oof, she looked away. Thank goodness! This is unbelievable. I just started mom out.
Wow!
***
“No, I didn’t do it. I swear.”
This is too easy. Way too easy! Why couldn’t I do this before?
She didn’t frown. That’s unusual. She always frowns when I deny her.
Well, at least say something, mom!
Fuck it! I did it, I won, and that’s what matters.
***
“David, I kept thirty bucks in my purse’s side-pocket last night. I can’t find them today.”
“So?”
“Did you take them?”
“Mom! Not again! I left that habit a long time ago. I don’t do that anymore.”
“You sure?”
Okay, now she’s staring.
“Yes. Yes, I am, okay? I didn’t steal the money.”
Yeah, I’m not afraid of your eyes anymore, mom. Stare as long as you want.
She’s looking away. Why won’t she say anything? Why won’t she just...
Wait, what the fuck is wrong with me? I beat her again. I won! There’s nothing to be feel sad about.
***
She’s searching her purse again. Shit!
Oh, don’t look in that side-pocket! Few bucks are missing.
Okay, David. There’s nothing to worry about. Her eyes don’t quite work magic on you anymore. You can lie looking her damn in the eye.
Still, I can’t deny it’s pretty tough to be up against mom. Her eyes... it almost feels like a hundred needles are piercing my brain when I stare at them.
Shit, she’s looking at me. And those needles are back.
I’m ready. Ask me. Ask me if I took the dollars. Ask me.
Why aren’t you pushing me? Why aren’t you trying to force the truth out?
No, don’t do that. Don’t look away! Ask me the fucking question. I’ll admit the truth. I’ll say I took the money. Just ask me.
Okay, you don’t have to ask me. I’ll say it myself.
No, no, no, no, no, no! How can I say it? How am I supposed to let out the truth just like that? I can’t do that.
She just sighed. She just sighed. Like... like she’s given up on me. Like she doesn’t even want to deal with me anymore.
Oh, mom! I miss your stare. So much!
Points:
Time spent:
IP address:
Canary word: Present
Possible AI signals:
Original Text:
Are you sure you want to delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Mark this comment as a review? Points will be awarded to the poster.
Your comment was posted, but it wasn’t long enough to count as a review. Reviews need about four complete sentences (at least 250 characters). Try writing another review that explains your thoughts in more detail — the author will appreciate it, and you’ll earn points for it.
139,603 Literary Works • 672,615 Reviews
This story hit hard! It was a really quick read but also ONE MINUTE OF HELL
. I really could relate to it and it really brought a lot of guilt to me. This was an very well written short and I really appreciate your efforts on reaching out.
Throughout the story, I was waiting for the protagonist (or Antagonist - whatever you consider him as) to tell his mother the truth and the way you concluded - by portraying David's guilt in a real rainbow of emotions (mainly guilt) - really left me heavy.
Keep writing this way and I believe that one day you will touch many hearts like mine. A truly wonderful, touching and relatable story. Thank you.
Thanks for the encouraging words.
Hello! I just wanted to say that this story hits home with me a little too well. We have all been there, at one point or another we have all lied to our parents at one point or another, and at one point we all get caught.
As someone who lies pretty often (I'm trying to work on not lying as much) I can say that this is exactly what goes through someones mind when they lie, and god forbid they get caught in the lie.
The last few sentences are what really gets me though, its sad to think that someone could lie so much to their parent to the point where their parent doesn't even bother asking anymore, as if they have totally given up hope for their child. Its a sad thought but unfortunately, its something that happens a lot.
Anyway, they story was great and well written. Keep up the good work and keep writing from the heart.
Thanks for the kind words.
Hi@Tawsif. I am here to review your work.
The situation you represented above is so true. We can never ever in our wildest dream hide the the truth from our mom. We can lie to the world but not our mom. I just loved the way how you knitted the story so well...
You made it look so realistic and relatable.
THAT LAST LINE JUST TOUCHED MY HEART.
Overall I loved your story...
Best wishes for your future work...
From BHAVYA
Glad to see that the last line touched your heart. Many thanks for the review.
welcome@Tawsif.
keep writing.