James Smithers

Strength is Survival

“Finish your supper and feed the horses. If you’re not back in fifteen minutes, you know what happens. Hurry on now.” My father is a complex man. He, my mother, and I live on our farm in what seems like miles from civilization. They homeschool me, feed me, clothe me, and abuse me. I’m seventeen now, and when I’m eighteen, I’ll be giving them the news that I’m leaving for the big city for more opportunity—in reality, it’s more like an escape. Life on our farm is difficult, especially for me, as I do most of the work myself while my mother gets high on drugs and father watches television. I bet mother was a beautiful woman once before the drugs consumed her day-to-day activities and stole her health like a thief.