Lie

Dolph couldn't bear to tell his father that he hated him, so he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I'm lonely. I'm looking for a wife."

His Dad flinched. His confident aura had disappeared.

"Well uh, what about the neighbours? We could expand the farm."

Dolph thought about the girls that lived on other farms. There was Delilah, who was obsessed with horses and refused to talk about anything else. There was Bertina, who used to bully him as a child. Then there was Annalies, who he caught torturing mice when he was a boy. He shuddered.

"Well alright boy, you don't have to say it. Do what you gotta do. I should be able to take care of the farm until you come back."

Dolph wondered if he would ever want to come back.

"I should talk to you about the uhh, birds and the bees" his father said. In excruciating detail, Dolph listened to his father describe sex, punctuated by awkward pauses. When Dolph tried to leave or make an excuse, his father would block his path. There was no escape.

Then after the sun started to set, he finished, and went inside the house.

"This was your mother's" he said. It was a necklace, with a dark blue sapphire. Dolph took it.

"One more thing" his father said. "Don't marry anyone just because they're pretty. We live in a harsh world, that punishes the innocent and only rewards the strong." He hesitated. "Your mother was weak, and we've both paid the price." His father gripped his hand. "Find a girl who can kick your ass. Then, never let her go."

Dolph and his father shared the same mood. Dolph remembered his mother, his father remembered his wife.

"I'll let you pack" he said, making an excuse to leave.

Dolph spent the night packing his meager possessions. In the morning he left, after embracing his father.