The Curse

She deprived her child of food, one meal a day as a toddler. His growth was stunted. All because his father had been a fat boy. The mother soon kicked the father out and took all of her rage out on the boy. He was her experimental guinea pig. She deprived him of the alphabet and colorful books to read because she believed some quack about discouraging preschool literacy. Mother and son did not share meals at the table. She bought a case of canned soup and told him his meals were in the pantry. Help yourself, she scowled. I blame the mother for causing her son to shoot himself. She should be jailed but instead she hangs up his handprints on paper plates from nursery school all sentimental having never done such a gesture while he was alive.