The Die is Cast
I held on to my mum’s hand as we stumbled down the stairs, following two rolling dice which were tracing a silvery arc in the air.
My father was screaming his last gasp behind us, with a knife buried deep in his chest. My mum’s hand was limp, and I had to grip her tight, even though mine was small and I was trembling the whole time.
We must have already gone down several flights of steps, but I could still hear my father bellowing curses and obscenities, like he always did when he was thrashing my mum. The stairwell was never-ending, and our descent felt like an eternity. I was overwhelmed by the fear of my father chasing us, despite his imminent death.
And then the dice vanished, and my eyes glazed over. I felt the stairs disappearing from under our feet. Where have the dice gone? I panicked, knowing we were doomed. I thought patricide was the only way to save my mother, but now we were plunging down to our own demise.
Chin Li grew up in Hong Kong but has lived in the UK for many years, and has published short fictional works in Gutter (Issue 16), Glasgow Review of Books and Gnommero.