1) In the 20th
hour the spider plant waved at Shelly. It was in that instant that you glimpse
the outside world before the bathroom door latches shut. As she eased down her
zipper the image blazed….
2) In the 27th
hour Shelly imagined the city built of sugar cubes. As she mixed chocolate
syrup into the 14th mocha of her marathon shift, she pictured the bank, the pet
store, the police station, video store… the entire city made of sugar cubes. If
it rains, she thought, we will all taste sweet freedom.
3) The roosters
were not a surprise. Already, dolphins had ordered raspberry scones. An
enormous cockroach munched coffee grounds until its belly distended, pulled
taut and round. The roosters were too loud, though. Their talons scratched and
clicked, beaks cutting through biscotti with an unsettling snap. They ordered
round after round of black coffee, eyeing Shelly with suspicion that turned
bitter, increasingly ominous. It had been 47 hours of work, no sleep, and
countless cups of coffee passed across the wooden countertop.
4) The roosters
slurped their coffee: Shelly put hands over her ears, hummed to herself, turned
up the music to shut out the noise. It was almost dawn. She couldn’t bear to
think of what might happen next.
This article appears in Dec 15-21, 2004.
