A Daughter’s Vow

by Traci Mullins


I won’t care if you ignore me, hide your face behind a book, the only sound the ice cubes, tinkling in your gin.

I won’t care if you neglect me, leave Pop-Tarts for my dinner, the only sound the television, babysitting again.

I won’t care if you abuse me, remind me I’m your biggest mistake, the only sound your slap across my face, stinging me with shame.

I won’t care if you displace me, let your lover steal my place, the only sound a knife’s blade, hollowing my heart.

I won’t care if you betray me, play dumb at his seduction, the only sound your hiss, accusing me of lying.

I won’t care if you erase me, punish me for truth-telling, the only sound your silence, making sure I pay.

I can’t afford to want a mother.

I would care.

So I won’t.

I won’t.


* * * * *

Traci Mullins, a non-fiction book editor by day, has been writing flash fiction since 2017. Her stories have been published in three anthologies, Panoply, Fictive Dream, Bending Genres, Flash Fiction Magazine, Flash Boulevard, Cabinet of Heed, Potato Soup Journal, (mac)ro(mic), Blink-Ink, Ellipsis Zine, and many others. She was a two-time finalist in the London Independent Story Prize competition.