“Toy Soldier Guilt Trip”

He waved goodbye to his wife, then rushed up the stairs to his daughter’s room.

“OK, she’s gone shopping,” he said, and handed her $20. “Gimme the box.”

She crossed her arms. “No. I’m taking a HUGE risk hiding that. I want 40.”

“What ‘risk’? You’re sixteen, everyone expects you to have stuff like that.”

“Uh, NO! They DON’T! If someone found THAT, in MY room, I would DIE!”

He sighed. Teenagers.

Now alone in his study, and $40 lighter, he opened the box. Looking at its contents, he felt a twinge of guilt. What would his wife say if she saw this? He also became aware of his toy soldier collection. The soldiers were all muscular brutes with big guns, standing there in their display case, watching him, judging him… “Shut up,” he muttered.

He grabbed one of the DVDs from the box. He had time for two episodes, maybe three. The theme song started to play, and he felt his heart beat faster. The song propelled him into an enchanting world, a world he’d fallen in love with from day one.

“My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…”

 

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Thanks for reading!

Written for the Sunday Photo Fiction – September 11th 2016

193 words.

 

• Flash Fiction