2002-03-08 4:09 p.m. I almost didn't go back to the supermarket today. There were a number of reasons. I will number them. 1. In all the drama, I had neglected to ask the lady with the lobster claws what her name was. How embarrassing! How could I go back to listen to more of her story when I'd have to greet her with a lackluster "Hey," instead of greeting her with her name. Actually, her name might even be unpronouncable to a human tongue. Surely she picked a new one when she became human. Mostly human. Human enough to need a new name. 2. Her story was sure to be heart-breaking. She looks at dead lobsters every day! Could my heart take the empathetic pain of hearing the truth? 3. My feet were tired. And It's such a walk to get to the store. 4. I didn't think I needed anything at the store. Eventually, I remembered that, in fact, I was out of q-tips and went to the store. "Hey," I said. "Hey," she said. "After you left last night I found my brother. He is dead. So I won't be coming back here ever again." "Not even for groceries?" I asked. "Perhaps for groceries," she said. "But I told you I'd tell you the rest of my story and so I shall. "As I said before, my brother and I were forced to work for a witch. For months, we gathered shiny rocks for her, which she would crush into powder and drink. As you might guess, these rocks became hard kidney stones and she was in wicked torment. She blamed us, though we knew nothing of human anatomy. "Neither did she, apparently. "So she cursed us severely. My brother, however, demanded our payment as we had done what she asked. Drenched in sweat from the pain and bed-ridden, the witch directed us to take a magic stick that was under her bed and to wish our sweetest wish while grasping the stick." I accidentally dropped my box of q-tips and then picked them back up. "Sorry. Please continue." "I decided to go first and wished to be a human. The transformation was almost complete before my brother knocked the stick from my hands. Or what should have been hands but were instead still the claws of a lobster. "'Why?' I asked him, 'Why have you done this?' And though he answered, I could no longer understand our lobsterish language." "Whoah," I said. "Yes," she said. So we stood there awkwardly, in front of the seafood display, while gawking passerby gaped at her hands instead of minding their carts, overflowing with frozen pizzas and cases of soda. She said, "I fled the place, tears streaming down my face, but I have always wondered about my brother and his wish." The lady and I half-heartedly agreed to see each other again sometime, each knowing the other didn't mean it. Then I went home. It seemed a waste, I thought, that for a single small box of q-tips that the cashier should give me such a big plastic bag to put it in. |
1. today is nice 3. happy yesterdays 8. thanks for hosting 4. doing other things |
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