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Pants on Fire

Cheryl Snell

I’ve called myself a professional liar ever since I wrote stories in my diary knowing my parents were reading them. They couldn’t confront me. They’d have to admit they were spies. By the time they tumbled to the fact that I was just trying to entertain them, I revealed a live boyfriend. Too bad I wasn’t attracted to him. Also, he wasn’t allowed to drive, a very big deal in high school. Let me just say I left him before he could leave me. Our baby was born with an open spine. She died and they tied my tubes. Or did I lose my baby to my parents, who insisted on adopting her? Would you buy that plot twist? It’s been in the movies. If I say that my boyfriend killed himself, is it more likely you’ll believe an oncoming truck struck him? I’m just looking for an ending that works here. I’ll know it when I see it, but it’s not easy. Try it. Make something up. Give it a shot.

Cheryl Snell’s books include several poetry collections and novels. Her most recent writing has appeared in Blink-Ink, Eunoia Review, BULL, Ink Sweat &Tears, MacQueen’s Quinterly, and other journals. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, including a Best of the Net, and has been nominated ten times for Best Small Fictions, the Pushcart, and BOTN. A classical pianist, she lives in Maryland with her husband, a mathematical engineer.

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