Flash Fiction: "Child"

She hides behind me.  The little girl holds my hand for safety.

"It's ok, dear.  No need to hide."

She shakes her head no.  She never speaks.

She goes everywhere with me.  I have a one-night stand, she is curled into a ball in the corner of the room watching me with a lump in her throat.  I have another one-night stand, she is hiding under the computer desk watching me with water-logged eyes.  I am in a car with a strange man, she is crying noiselessly in the front seat.

She goes with me everywhere.  She is my child.

But now I have met a new man.  He notices her hiding behind me.  He is the first person who has ever seen her.

"Hey sweetie... look what I have for you."  He gives her a daisy and tells her she's a beautiful girl.  I close my eyes as he stands to kiss my cheek.

When I open them, my baby is gone and the flower is in my hand.