by Elijah M. Newton*
The woman in white dress lives in the hole walls come in groups of four I’m sure the man in the mirror told me so he wears my face not me my face like Halloween but children love Santa more. Mother says boys behave rewards are given Mother wore white and was ladylike Father was gone told to look in mirror to find him Mother never made sense. Money is found at the bank had a roommate once a frog perhaps poured peroxide on my hair Chicago now Albany frustrating really it was bleach a total mess the mouse laughed with me he wears a top hat lives in hole with woman in white. They’re married I think. Virgil lives in my veins pumping through my heart like faucet feeds the hunger to share secrets are meant to be kept it’s ok to share dream though. One day words being hard to find he came out the mouse not Virgil told me he was magick magick exists in the minds of children pure imagination left me. There was a potion was not free but mice don’t need money he was after my heart cheese “NO!” shouted me at the mouse ran no scurried to the hole haven’t seen him since. Woman in white is nicer whispers to me at night darkness hides things 'specially secrets. I love woman in white reminds me of Mother she told me great many things but Mother made no sense woman too. Work is work not meant to be fun friendly woman at bus port smiled I liked that wanted to make her steak that night steak comes from cows live on farms went there once a park too. Woman didn’t want steak I didn’t like that decided to make in-spir-a-tion She lives now in between the blue lines pen broke can’t clean stain from carpet broken useless it sleeps now in dumpster. Sat at the desk wrote until the sun woke up long page I felt better went to work work is work boss told me he needed more from me “I’m poor not much to give!” shouted at him. He didn’t like that it wasn’t my fault. Told me “start making sense can’t understand me" “im not Mother. Mother she never made sense. Father left money.” this confused me but he gave me number to magick woman just mouse in disguise offered me potion capsules. I don’t take them can’t afford them mice don’t need money. Persistent ran home but he beat me there now in mouse body with top hat smiled at me reading my paper. Snatched from his tiny paws hated it told me so I believe him me too kept paper though told me so offered tiny hand in important task. “Mice don’t need money! No cheese, go home tell woman in white!”
July 4, 2020
* Originally an unfinished short-fiction piece reformatted by Ajax.
