A Father's Final Words

Flora sat motionless in the salon of a simple boarding house down from the chaos of her own history. The soft hum of an old radio gave some quiet distance between her thoughts, and in the silence, her mind went back to when her father's words had thrilled and soaked her. As she goggled blankly at the rumpled snap of him on the mantel, her inner voice mingled with graphic flashbacks that played out like hushed exchanges in the quiet of her heart.

" I flash back the way ...