The prompt was : Write a Short Story including a Mother in Law, A cut on an arm, and a Rubber chicken.
“So, let me get this straight… Your Momma-in-law comes to visit, and not even a day later she’s already man-handling you in your own house?” Deon asked with laughter flooding his voice. I sucked my teeth loudly; Deon always seemed to find humor in my troubled scenarios.
“Come on now, nobody has me shook. I wear the Levi’s in this house.” I responded.
“Then why are you whispering?” Deon said in a sarcastic whisper.
“Because I swear she is into that Voodoo black magic whatchamacallit.”
“Now Reggie, Everybody from Louisiana isn’t associated with witchcraft; stop being so stereotypical.”
“Oh yea? Then explain why I saw a rubber chicken with one foot in her luggage?”
“…”
“yea… now tell me that I’m overreacting.”
“Well for one, you ARE overreacting. Two, maybe she has a part time gig as a magician. Or better yet, maybe she supports the handicap animal movement.”
“Handicap Animal movement… Really Deon? That’s your theory, a Special Olympics for Cock-a-doodles?” We both laughed at the direction this conversation was headed. “I still think you’re overreacting, and why in the world were you snooping through her belongings anyway?” Deon asked in a detective voice. The question caught me off guard.
“No, I wasn’t snooping, I don’t have to snoop. This is…”“Reggie hold on for a sec, I have a beep. Matter of fact, let me call you back, this is my fiancé and I intend on having a honest happy marriage unlike you Dick Tracy.” I smiled as I hung up and placed the phone back on the dock. With caution I peeked down the hall to confirm that my Mother-in-law’s door wasn’t open. The last thing I need this holiday was an enraged witch brewing up my feast. I smiled gently when I saw that her door was in fact closed, but my lips lost gravity as the hinges creaked while the door slowly opened.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed staring at me with Medusa eyes… I turned to stone; well it felt like it. She raised her hand and signaled me over with slow pulls of her trigger finger. Mama Medusa had a look on her face like a mother who had just caught her child stealing currency from her purse. I don’t recall my brain authorizing my legs to move, but they did. Suddenly I was standing at the threshold of her door… well my door; cause after all this is my house. I tried to erase the childish fear from my body, and finally stand up to this woman, but I couldn’t. My legs were on auto pilot and came to a screeching halt in the doorway. I attempted to continue in; I didn’t want to show any fear, but my legs refused. I was stuck, paralyzed; I was Christopher Reeves on my last leg. And her eyes... the look she shared with me was so horrific, as if her pupils were glowing Kryptonite green. I gave up on moving, as if I really had a choice; I was under her spell, and Deon said I was overreacting.
“Ahhhh… it seems as if you can’t enter the room can’t cha? Maybe cuz you have an evil spirit perhaps yea?” She spoke in a scratchy tone, the voice of sick elder that had just woke up. I tried to speak, to respond to her nonsense… but I couldn’t. She stood up in a lavender dress with black roses scattered in a poke-a-dot pattern, and walked towards me. I felt my heart beat race itself in a billion yard sprint as she reached for me with a wrinkled hand. The only thing I could move were my eyes, as I focused on a small cut on her arm that seemed to absorb me.
As her fingertip got closer to my face, I felt my soul leave my torso and then everything faded with an exaggerated blink. The next thing I saw was my wife, reaching for me in the same posture. She was waking me up from a nightmare as sat I up quickly from the couch. I smiled at the fact that I was just dreaming… until I looked down the hall and saw my mother-in-law… sitting on the edge of the bed…
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