Bending Will, by Yash Seyedbagheri

Bending Will

Mama surveys a bent fork, left on the table.

“Your father’s too strong,” she says, laughing. Her laughter cracks.

I pick it up.

Some fathers look for new jobs, have no luck. Yell. Others drink. Others twist things. They bend and bend, until you wish they yelled.

I twist and bend. And again. Mom watches, once bright hazel eyes weary. I think she hopes I can restore the fork’s grace. Leave no visible trace. But my fingers are as thin as French fries. Dad’s are bulbous.

“I’m sorry, Mama.”

“It looks wonderful.” She hugs me.
​
 Some things can’t be unbent.

Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University's MFA fiction program. His stories, "Soon,”  “How To Be A Good Episcopalian,” and "Tales From A Communion Line," have been nominated for Pushcarts. Yash’s work  has been published in The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, Write City Magazine, and Ariel Chart, among others.