Read Online Brains for the Zombie Soul (a parody) by Michelle Hartz - Free Book Online Page B

We’ve come too far.”
    “We’re stuck out here in the blizzard,” Joey
said. “If it weren’t for your house, I don’t know what we would
do.”
    “You’re welcome to stay here until the storm
blows over,” Mrs. Henderson said. “I was just finishing up a
Christmas dinner for me and my guest. There’s plenty to go around.”
Then she called out, “Amal, honey. Supper is ready when you
are.”
    He could feel the tension in the house. The
hunters were surely inspecting every inch of the room to find where
he was hiding. The bathroom had no window, the door was the only
way out. He was trapped. The reflection in the mirror looked back
at him. He couldn’t believe how he could have fooled himself into
thinking that looked human. They would know him at once. But what
else could he do? He combed his hair back, stood up tall, and
opened the door.
    “Amal, do you like roast goose?” Mrs. Henderson
asked. She was holding a plate.
    He licked his lips. “I do, it’s my favorite. My
mother used to make it every Christmas.”
    She piled mashed potatoes high on the plate next
to a drumstick, and spooned gravy over the top. The plate was
placed at the setting next to her own. “I doubt this will be as
good as your mama’s, but it’ll do. Come and sit here next to me,
this one is just for you.”
    He kept an eye on the hunters as he passed. The
first one, Joey he guessed, nodded to him politely, and Mikey
followed suit. He sat at the table, and waited as Mrs. Henderson
made plates up for the two other men as well as for herself.
    The roast goose was the best thing Amal had ever
tasted in his afterlife. It may even have been as good as his moms.
As dinner progressed, they sat and talked together, all four of
them, without a bit of animosity. Mrs. Henderson set blankets out
for them, and they bundled up next to each other in front of the
fire and fell asleep.
    In the morning, Mrs. Henderson bid the hunters
goodbye and sent them back to spend Christmas morning with their
families. Joey was on the front porch when he said to Amal, “It was
a pleasure meeting you. Go on your way, we won’t meet again.”
    Mikey said, “The driveway leads to a road. We’re
going east, back to town. If you continue to the west, I think you
might find some friends.”
    “Thank you,” said Amal.
    Mrs. Henderson smiled and waved them
goodbye.

    (back to
TOC)

    ****

    Love

    Just Another
Bum
    It was just another trip to the grocery store.
Nothing special.
    I turned down the soup aisle and saw the most
beautiful man I had ever laid eyes on. Before seeing him, I had
never thought a man could be beautiful before. He was tall and lean
and dressed impeccably in a nice suit, but didn’t look pretentious.
He had a dark complexion, deep brown eyes that seemed to beckon me
like being wrapped in a big fuzzy blanket, and high cheekbones. His
facial structure along with his long dark hair, braided down his
back, made me think he had a lot of Native American descent.
    I was so busy looking at him that I forgot where
I was and what I was doing, and my cart hit an aisle display
straight on. It was knocked clean over, and boxes of saltines
scattered all over the floor. Embarrassed, I dove into picking the
boxes up, but when I looked up he was gone.
    I rushed through my shopping hoping to run into
him again, and only saw him again in the parking lot when he was
getting into his car. I debated following him, but what would that
get me other than a restraining order?
    The next week, I saw him again, eating inside my
favorite restaurant as I was picking up take out. Over the next few
months, he kept popping up around town, just out of reach. I went
into the bank and saw him pulling away from the drive through. I
was leaving the laundry mat as he was taking his clothes in. He
passed me on his bike as I was walking down the street.
    It got so awkward, all the times I’d seen him
and stared at him, that if I could get the chance to say something,
I didn’t know