Burning and Shining by Praise Chidinma Abraham
The yelling coming from my parent's room hasn't stopped. It's been about 1 hour 23 minutes 16 seconds since they began their usual battle-ring routine; I'm counting. Trembling, I whisper desperate prayers: blood mustn't flow, not this time. "You piece of nonsense. You're the greatest mistake I ever made!" I hear my mom's shaky voice squeak. The loud echo of a hot slap on a cheek—definitely his hand on my mom's cheek—tingle my eardrums. I hear the struggle, the upturning of their entire room, whi
