Glass roses, gilt-edged with gold, smashed and splintered.

He sits among them, the broken shards of his life.

She has gone now, the fire and the fury.

She will return, he knows.

She will do it again.

Why does he put up with it?

That abstract notion of love? Loyalty?

Or shame? Shame that a woman can bully and subjugate a man.

He should be strong, he should stand up to her.

But he can’t bring himself to hurt her, in spite of it all.

He picks up a splintered petal, sharp golden edge glinting.

Here is a way out.

Written as part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above).

To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.