Friday Flash Fiction: Ali Cross' INDEPENDENCE DAY Blog-Hop!

FIRST: This is your last chance to enter the giveaway of TOOTER'S STINKY WISH, by Brian Cretney, illustrated by Peggy Collins, and signed by both of them! Go HERE to do it!


And now, today is Ali Cross' Independence Day Blog-Hop! (Ali is a ninja of awesome: always positive, always supportive, and lots of fun. To visit her dojo, go HERE.)  The challenge was to write a 250-word-or-less flash fiction piece for the prompt: "It's Independence Day, and something unexpected happens..."

So here's my entry:

***

This is it: my own personal Independence Day. The day I strike out on my own, forge ahead into the great unknown, cut the umbilical cord. I'm movin' out.

I reach for the last box of books, but Dad puts a meaty hand on my shoulder. "Let me get that one, son."

"That's okay, I can do it." I can do it all myself. Ever since Mom died, Dad's been watching me like he watches the sky on a day when the air is heavy with the anticipation of rain. He's been waiting and waiting for my dam to burst and let everything out, but I'm going to prove that I'm okay. I'm ready to go it alone.

But Dad already has his strong arms wrapped around the box. I follow him out to the car, slamming the door shut behind me. It flexes away from its frame as I kick the doorplate with my heel. "Hasta la vista, Baby."

I head for the rusty Mustang and my vision tunnels in on my dad, crumpling over sideways, the box crashing to the sidewalk, its contents exploding out and littering the ground. I run to him, grab his wrist, stare into his blank eyes, shake his chest. My First Aid training evaporates, and I am alone.

I can't do this myself.

***

So, that's my entry. I hope you enjoyed reading it. To read the others, just follow the links in the nifty linky-list below, and feel free to join in the fun by adding your own entry to the mix. Happy reading!