CW: Violence, Sexual assault
by Rebecca Klassen
That’s the word I used for my word jumble game, the day Dad hurt me, gripping my throat hard, calling me trash. He shut me in the shed in the yard where he always smoked. Dust motes floated in the sun’s rays that bled between the sturdy planks while rats scuttled by my feet. I played with letters, wishing Dad was gone in a dash. When he came back and wrestled the rusty lock open, I wielded his ash tray. I didn’t stop until I heard his skull hit the ground with a thud, and I became a stray.
Rebecca Klassen is co-editor of The Phare. She has won the London Independent Story Prize, and her work has been performed on BBC Radio.
