Crystalline
ShortStory 2,911 words Recommended by 2 award/anthology sources
"Who loves you?” I ask. My daughter looks away. Doesn’t answer. I lean down and turn her to face me, resting my thumb in the dimple in her chin. It’s the same dimple her mother has. Or had. “You love me, Daddy.” “That’s right, so please listen closely,” I say. She’s only nine, but Anya’s eyes are flat and black and hard to read in the dim light of the cave."
Content warnings 3
child-abusedeathviolence
Quasar links out; the story lives on Lightspeed, where the author gets the click.