As the minister talks well of her mother, she can only remember the insults. Sit straighter. Lose some weight. Who will want you? You got yourself a man? You don’t look good in white.
She hides her smile in the front pew. You are right, mother. Black suits me best.
N.J. Chan is a Toronto-based writer of short stories, essays, and poems. Her work has been published in magazines, journals, and an anthology, including most recently in the international editorial collective NüVoices. She received a second-place win with Flash Fiction Magazine and an honourable mention in 2023 Askew’s Word on the Lake Anthology (under the name Natalie J. Chan). See more @njchan_author.
Stinging punchline!
Thank you Joanna!
❤️
Excellent work! You painted her history in so few words.
Thanks Mary! I tried capturing the core of their relationship over the years.
Painful, but well done. Perhaps a wake-up call for some.
Thank you!
Sounds like my mother.
😮
Very sharp and unexpected ending, love it!
Thanks JC!
Gleefully dark! Simply lovely.
Hit the mark. A relationship captured in a moment.
Thank you, Trevor. Writing dark things sometimes is the funnest.
Really great capture of a relationship between mother and daughter
Thank you, Chelan!
Zing!
;)
Prelude to a longer murder/mystery? Well done.
Amazing! So much portrayed in such few words.
Wow really powerful contrast. Amazing work!
Nice!