Little Problem by Jen Steffen

Momma had a baby and the head popped off.” THUNK

The baby cried harder. It always cried. No one ever asked Sean if he wanted to be a big brother. Play with your sister; his mother always wanted him to play with the baby. Maybe she’ll get to know you then and stop crying for you. He sighed and looked at the baby again.

“Momma had a baby and the head popped off.” THUNK

The baby screamed at him and kicked its feet, flailed its arms. Its face went from pink to beet red. Jeremy had showed him this game and popped off the head of a dandelion. He said his sister always laughed when he did it. “Stupid baby, stop crying. This is supposed to be funny.” It only kicked harder.

“Momma had a baby and the head popped off!” he yelled at it. THUNK

The baby stopped crying.

Momma walked by and looked in. Then momma started screaming. She pushed Sean out of the way and scooped up the baby, hugging it to her chest, staining her t-shirt. Sean stood where he landed and frowned after them. That wasn’t how Jeremy said his mom reacted. He stayed where he was until his mother went downstairs. Then he went into the bathroom, washed his hands, washed the hammer and went to his bedroom to wait for the lecture.


Jen has been writing since childhood. She is the first born of three,
all siblings are still alive. This was posted on her writing site were it
received several good comments. She is currently working on a novel and lives
with her husband and two children.


7 comments:

Richard Godwin said...

Nice and dark. Extremely effective.

Keith Buckley said...

Simply, beautifully twisted. Loved it!

Christopher Pimental said...

I loved it.

Bill Baber said...

wow, that was scary! nicely done- fast ,short and effective.

Anonymous said...

Short, effective as offensive as the violence and pain inflicted. Well done. ER ..thanks for the link

Bruce Harris said...

Great title and terrific story. Nicely done.

matt arnold said...

My God this is creepy and I'm sure that was the goal. Well done.