The Ladies of Horror
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The Children’s Dinner
by Melissa R. Mendelson

Tick.  Tock.  The hour was late, and the candles were dying.  The oven was screaming, and dinner was burning.  She was waiting, and she hated to be kept waiting.  The grandfather clock continued, driving every Tick Tock like a nail into my skull.

I hurried into the kitchen to fetch her dinner.  She loved meatloaf, and tonight, I rushed it.  I hoped she didn’t notice, but I made extra vegetables.  I almost made the green ones, but then I caught myself.  My poor son offered to help, but I couldn’t let her see that.  Instead, he stood in the corner and watched as I hurried out into the small dining room, preparing her placemat and utensils, then I did the same for my son, who would share the table with her.  I then rescued the meatloaf from the oven and quickly scraped away the burnt parts.  Finally, the two plates were ready and filled with their dinner.

Without a word, I pulled out the armless yellow chair; she emerged from the darkness.  Her porcelain skin flashed against the glow from the candles.  Her hair was stiff with a red bow tied in the back, her short, black dress scraped against the chair.  She looked at me, blinked with a soft echo of lashes against her face; my son took a seat at the table.  I slowly backed away to let the children eat, taking a seat near the grandfather clock.

Suddenly, she leaped from her seat and landed on my son’s chest.  She opened her mouth wide and drew in his breath; my poor son sat rigid in his chair, frozen with terror.  His skin began to pale and harden, shining against the candlelight, then she slowly moved away from him.  As she did, my son turned toward me and blinked, his lashes echoed against his skin.  All I heard was that damn clock. Tick. Tock.

 Fiction © Copyright Melissa R. Mendelson
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Melissa R. Mendelson:

Please visit the following link for a short story ready by WildSound of Give Me Truth or Give Me Silence by Melissa R. Mendelson. Performed by Laura Kyswaty.