%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |
Entry for june 2025 Tales shown not told contest. |
| I opened the door and closed it three times before I entered. I wiped my feet on the mat inside three times before taking my shoes off and carefully placing them in their place to the right of the door. I took my jacket off and hung it on the hook next to the door, smoothing it three times before slipping on my house slippers. My first stop was the powder room where I sat for exactly three minutes to make sure my bladder was actually empty. Then I headed to the kitchen. I pulled the meal prep box labeled Friday and put it on the counter six inches from the stove and twelve away from the wall. Then I retrieved the pan from its place on the wall behind the stove. I wiped it three times to make sure it wasn’t dusty. Accidentally my hand went around it one half more times. I dropped the pan on the floor. It bounced, cracking the tile. Frozen, I didn’t know what to do. Eventually I moved to pick it up. In doing so, I stepped on the cracked tile. I screamed and dropped the pan again. This time the pan dented but the tile it landed on survived. My blood pressure shot through the roof. I quickly stepped back off of the cracked tile. My next thought was to call my mother. “Mom? Are you okay?” “Yes dear, why?” “I’m terribly sorry mom I stepped on a cracked tile!” “Oh honey, that is just a silly superstition. Next you’re going to tell me you had a miserable day just because it was Friday the thirteenth.” I gasped, and nearly dropped the phone. “Mom could you come over? I don’t think I can cook myself dinner. I dropped the pan, cracked a tile and everything is going wrong!” I was nearly hyperventilating. Friday the thirteenth? How could I have gone through the day without knowing. “Okay honey, why don’t you take your anxiety med and have a sit down on the couch. I’ll be there in a half an hour. I love you, be there soon.” “Love you mom, thank you.” I hung up the phone and looked at the time. It was all wrong. It wasn’t time to sit on the couch. It was time to cook dinner, but I just couldn’t. Shuffling through a mental block like molasses, I finally made it to the couch. I sat and stared at the blank television screen. I was frozen. It was too early for the news. I didn’t even know what was on the TV at this time. I stared at the blank screen until I heard my mother’s key in the apartment door. She took time at the door to change into the house slippers I had for her there. Then she rushed into the living room. “Have you been staring at a blank screen since we talked?” She picked up the remote and turned the TV on. It was some stupid syndicated sit com. I stared at the TV blindly. “What do you want me to cook?” “I put the Friday meal prep kit on the counter. It has instructions, but my pan dented I have nothing to cook it in.” Mom chuckled, “A little dent doesn’t mean you can’t cook in it. I have this handled.” I sat staring through the TV screen not even noticing the show. I heard mom singing in the kitchen and the sounds of cooking. My breathing had slowed to normal. Mom brought the meal out of the kitchen and handed me the plate before retrieving and opening my TV tray. I took a bite of the chicken and chewed rhythmically ten times on one side, ten on the other then I swallowed. It tasted good, but different. “Mom, did you follow the instructions?” “Well, I did add a little garlic powder. I thought it needed it.” I dropped my fork. My mouth went dry. I couldn’t eat another bite. It just wasn’t right. “Mom, you have to follow the directions exactly!” “Oh, honey, you need to loosen up! Change is good. Did you like how it tasted?” I had to nod. “Then eat it and enjoy it, it is still good food.” Tentatively I took another bite. I started to chew it ten times on one side of my mouth. Experimentally I stopped counting and just let my tongue move the food around freely in my mouth. It was ready to swallow long before I otherwise would have. Eating it this way I tasted the food more thoroughly than I usually did. It was actually a good experience. Maybe mom was right. Maybe Friday the thirteenth was my new favorite day. 788 words prompt ▼ |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
