Sean’s stepfather John liked the killing side of things, be it groundhogs, quail, or rabbits. John particularly enjoyed watching chickens running around after he cut their heads off. But all the digging and burying, the skinning or cleaning of what was killed, John gladly delegated to Sean.
And Sean always felt a bit sorry for the animals when they were deprived of feathers or fur and could do nothing to hide their nakedness as they lay soaking or cooking in a pot.
When not tidying up after John, Sean’s favorite thing to do was to take daily walks and look at things, observe nature and its forms and interactions. He always took a gun with him as he ambled through the fields. If Sean were unarmed, his stepfather would chide him for wasting time. And when Sean always returned empty handed, his stepfather would further chide him for wasting bullets. But after Sean came back from the army with a ribbon for expert marksmanship pinned on his chest, his stepfather might have been just a bit taken aback.
Edward Michael Supranowicz is the grandson of Irish and Lithuanian/Russian/Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up on a small farm in Appalachia. He has a grad background in painting and printmaking. Some of his artwork has recently or will soon appear in Fish Food, Streetlight, Another Chicago Magazine, Door Is A Jar, The Phoenix, and The Harvard Advocate. Edward is also a published poet who has had over 700 poems published and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize multiple times.
Modern Flash Fiction 