{"id":2649,"date":"2014-08-24T23:34:47","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T23:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/?p=2649"},"modified":"2014-08-24T23:34:47","modified_gmt":"2014-08-24T23:34:47","slug":"family-problems-joshua-asmah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/family-problems-joshua-asmah\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Problems by Joshua Asmah"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Deliberation<\/a>
Deliberation by Mario Sanchez Nevado<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Family Problems<\/h1>\n

by Joshua Asmah<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sitting there, clicking away at my laptop, working on a new story.<\/p>\n

My cousin\u2019s on the floor, playing a puzzle game on a tablet. She\u2019s almost done.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like it when people fight,\u201d she says, as simply as a 5-year old can say.<\/p>\n

Downstairs, her parents are having a yelling match. They\u2019ve been at it for hours. Loud, harsh voices echoing through the empty house. They show no signs of stopping.<\/p>\n

I look up at her and sigh. \u201cWhat do you like?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like it when people fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you love your parents?\u201d<\/p>\n

She taps away at the screen and doesn\u2019t answer for a long time. I wait. Write. \u201cMommy and Daddy fight every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t like it.\u201d She finishes the game. \u201cI won.\u201d<\/p>\n

I nod. \u201cGood job.\u201d<\/p>\n

She starts the game again. \u201cI don\u2019t like fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you like?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they don\u2019t fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when is that?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

She stares at the screen and taps some more. I wait again. \u201cI like this game,\u201d she finally says.<\/p>\n

I decide to let it go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m sitting there, clicking away at my laptop, working on a new story.<\/p>\n

My cousin\u2019s on the floor, playing a puzzle game on a tablet. She\u2019s almost done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[168,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flash-fiction","category-short-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t