All Caught Up
Doris and I are staying in an abandoned warehouse. Eating a can of pork
and beans doesn’t actually fill a person up. I helped her to escape from
that loony bin. It wasn’t all that hard to get a hold of the security guard’s
keys. Doris coughs into her fist and wipes her mouth with the sleeve of
her worn nightgown.
She told me to wait for her at the corner of the bust stop. It is 8:35
and now I see her. Doris approaches me from across the street. As I run
to meet her, I forget that I was mad at her a few seconds ago. Together
we walk into the bar hand in hand like little girls on their first trip.
At the ages of 24 and 31, we’re not little girls anymore. Then we see
him, sitting in the corner by himself. At that moment, Doris walks over
to him and leaves me in the dust. What a wave of anger and betrayal! Doris
follows him upstairs and I don’t see them for two hours.
Doris asks me for a cigarette. Her face glows a bright yellow as she
strikes a match. I look at her facial features and her drab gown. She
has certainly lost her beauty. The brown soft curls that crowned her head
are now replaced by strands of grey and white hair. Every time she inhales,
her cheeks suck inward as if she’s sucking on a lollipop to get the full
taste of it. She always blows little donuts of smoke when exhaling. I
hate when she does that.
Doris grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room. She says she has a
surprise for me. She leads me to the bathroom and locks the both of us
in one of the stalls. I inquire about the surprise. She takes out a pack
of cigarettes from the breast pocket of her shirt. At the age of 8, I’ve
never smoked a cigarette before. Doris (only of age 15) lights one and
hands it to me. Doris tells me exactly what to do with it, so I take a
puff. Before I know it, I am throwing-up. Doris just stands in front of
me laughing and puffing out little donuts of smoke in my face.
It’s 5:00 am and the sun is about to come up. I lie awake on my bed,
thinking about the upcoming exams I will have to take. Doris walks in
and lets out a shrill peal of hysterical laughter. She comes over to me
and starts babbling on and on about a so-called "doomsday". I smell alcohol
on her breath and start to chide her for having drunk too much. Doris
only laughs. On an impulse, she grabs my hair and pulls me over to the
bathroom sink. She takes out a razor and cuts my face with it. I faint
at the sight of my blood. The last thing I remember was Doris’ laugh.
The next day, she is expelled from the university (which ruins her chance
of ever becoming a doctor).
As I look at her now, I remember all the past experiences and pain she
had put me through. I stare at her intently, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
When she reclines to rest on a sack of rice, I approach her. From my pocket,
I take out a piece of rope. Before Doris is aware of my actions, I tie
the rope tightly around her neck. She struggles for air as I make a small
mark on her arm with a razor. Then I loosen the rope and put a bag over
her head. She tries to fight me, but I resist. After awhile, Doris stops
moving. I take the bag off her head. She seems to be sleeping. I drag
her body down the hill towards a body of water. Good-bye Doris! All your
troubles are over and so are mine.
Jump to another story ----Straight
To The Heart or A
World Apart or Under
The Skin
Back to Writer's
Block page
|