[Write The Story] A Single Parent Solves a Problem

Prompt: A Single Parent Solves a Problem

Words: adoption, grotesque, cove, snail, olive, navel, rivulet, hollow, ambrosia, pale

Story

What do you do when your kid won’t stop asking for a pet? Seriously, I’m asking because I am at my wits end on this one. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great kid. Strong, smart, mostly responsible for a kid his age, but…he’s a kid and his dad’s not in the picture. So, I tried a sort of compromise – an olive branch. I let him start with something small.

I hated that grotesque, pale snail with its rivulet of slime. But I had to admit, he took care of it. Built it a little cove house all set up in the fairy hollow. Figured out what it ate, and , six months in what ate it. He was so heartbroken. I couldn’t do anything to jolly him out of his melancholy navel gazing.

Once more, wits end. This was bigger than me. So, I did what I had to do. I braced myself with ambrosia and went to face his father. No that Zeus could be bothered. Oh, he was all “Alcmene! Sweetie! It’s been so long…” But when it came down to it, Hera had him on a short leash. But in the end, he sent Good Old Uncle Hades.

Hades took my son to some kind of pet adoption event. And that’s how we ended up with a three-headed hellpuppy. We made a deal though. Hades had to help with training and my son, oh Hercules, my boy, had to take care of him in the Underworld. Because, yeah, I was not explaining that to the neighbors.

Word Count: 260

Written: 8/20/2020

Tags: Fantasy, flash fiction, Greek gods, mythology, pets, Piccadilly, short story, Write the Story