by Mark Souza
Appliances Included Tidbits
This story first appeared in the Pill Hill Press anthology, Haunted, on June 15th, 2010. When I saw the theme, I thought of two the things that scared me most. The first was the disappearance of a child. Anyone who has lost track a child for a few minutes in a department store knows the feeling and has felt the panic. The other is being accused of a crime you didn’t commit. Quite often it’s easier to prove guilt than innocence. And despite one’s innocence, even friends and loved ones may have doubts if the evidence seems strong – and what could be more horrible than that?
The character Sadie is based on a woman my wife and I encountered at the drive-thru of burger joint while passing through the Eastern Washington town of Wenatchee. We were placing our order when I noticed her wheel up behind us on a Rascal motorized scooter - I kid you not. She wore nothing but a hospital gown - the kind with ties up the back that let a little too much sunshine on the back porch, if you know what I mean. After a few seconds, she seemed to grow impatient and pulled up to my wife’s window to complain. But complaining was the last thing on her mind, she just wanted to shoot the breeze, a lit cigarette dangling from her mouth, a clear tube pumping oxygen through a cannula fixed under her nose. She explained that the food at the hospital was crap and she busted out of there. They wouldn’t let her smoke, neither (her words); so her first stop was a convenience store for a pack of Camels and a Zippo. And then it was chow time. She had a little dirt on just about everybody in town and had no qualms about sharing it with us while we waited for our food. She was someone I’ll never forget, and now, neither will you.
About the Author
Mark Souza lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, two children, and mongrel beast-dog, Tater. When he’s not writing, he’s out among you trying to look and act normal (whatever that is), reminding himself that the monsters he’s created are all in his head, no more real than campaign promises.
