©2001 Marion Pennell
“Oh no, you were right! There’s an actual chain gang over there, that field before the intersection by the hedge, see??”
“Yup, Brian said they’d be a lot more visible as you get to the border. We’ll see the camps too. Who knew Plattsburgh would ever be so well known?”
Natalie shifted lower in her seat but still peered out the window. “They’re all so young. What do you think they did? Continue reading
“So, I understand you think you are Jesus?” asked the ever so condescending doctor.
“No,” I replied patiently. “Of course not. I am one of the apostles.”
“Which one?”
“How should I know? But I guess it’s not Peter if I’m not denying it.”
“But, you’re a woman.”
“Your point being?” Continue reading
When she came to, she was walking. And crying.
She took inventory as she walked. Body parts ached, really hurt. She tried to understand how she could gain consciousness and actually be walking. She decided that she hadn’t been unconscious, just in a blackout, and then, now, not in a blackout. Is that the same as “coming to”?, she wondered. She kept walking.
It was chilly and by the light it was early, very early. Maybe 6 a.m. The last memory was late, very late, and dark, and drunk, so very drunk. She didn’t know where those hours went, but obviously something very bad had happened. Continue reading
All she knew for sure was that she was glad she had never had children. After all, where would they be now? and what if she had borne daughters?
Part of the library in the bookcase left behind was a series of nature and science books, some ludicrously outdated, and assorted National Geographics in several languages. She read and read and read until most of the articles were memorized, and then she would make notes, and lists and cross reference the lists and make comparisons.
She compared the adult female lives of birds and primates and carnivores, herd animals, monogamous pair-bonded animals, but mainly solitary animals. Tigers and Bears. (NOT Lions, and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! for after all, lionesses lived communally and shared hunting and child-rearing duties among the group.)
The old grey mare... 