Yellow Mama Archives II

Deidre J. Owen

Home
Acuff, Gale
Ahern, Edward
Allen, R. A.
Alleyne, Chris
Andes, Tom
Arnold, Sandra
Aronoff, Mikki
Ayers, Tony
Baber, Bill
Baird, Meg
Baker, J. D.
Balaz, Joe
Barker, Adelaide
Barker, Tom
Barnett, Brian
Barry, Tina
Bartlett, Daniel C.
Bates, Greta T.
Bayly, Karen
Beckman, Paul
Bellani, Arnaav
Berriozabal, Luis Cuauhtemoc
Beveridge, Robert
Blakey, James
Booth, Brenton
Bracken, Michael
Burke, Wayne F.
Burnwell, Otto
Campbell, J. J.
Cancel, Charlie
Capshaw, Ron
Carr, Steve
Carrabis, Joseph
Cartwright, Steve
Centorbi, David Calogero
Cherches, Peter
Christensen, Jan
Clifton, Gary
Cody, Bethany
Costello, Bruce
Coverly, Harris
Crist, Kenneth James
Cumming, Scott
Davie, Andrew
Davis, Michael D.
Degani, Gay
De Neve, M. A.
Dillon, John J.
Dinsmoor, Robert
Dominguez, Diana
Dorman, Roy
Doughty, Brandon
Doyle, John
Dunham, T. Fox
Ebel, Pamela
Fagan, Brian Peter
Fillion, Tom
Fortier, M. L.
Fowler, Michael
Galef, David
Garnet, George
Garrett, Jack
Graysol, Jacob
Grech, Amy
Greenberg, KJ Hannah
Grey, John
Hagerty, David
Hardin, Scott
Held, Shari
Hicks, Darryl
Hivner, Christopher
Hoerner, Keith
Hohmann, Kurt
Holt, M. J.
Holtzman, Bernard
Holtzman, Bernice
Holtzman, Rebecca
Hopson, Kevin
Hubbs, Damon
Irwin, Daniel S.
Jabaut, Mark
Jermin, Wayne
Jeschonek, Robert
Johns. Roger
Kanner, Mike
Karl, Frank S.
Kempe, Lucinda
Kennedy, Cecilia
Keshigian, Michael
Kirchner, Craig
Kitcher, William
Kompany, James
Kondek, Charlie
Koperwas, Tom
Kreuiter, Victor
Larsen, Ted R.
Le Due, Richard
Leotta, Joan
Lester, Louella
Lubaczewski, Paul
Lucas, Gregory E.
Luer, Ken
Lukas, Anthony
Lyon, Hillary
Mannone, John C.
Margel, Abe
Martinez, Richard
McConnell, Logan
McQuiston, Rick
Middleton, Bradford
Milam, Chris
Miller, Dawn L. C.
Mladinic, Peter
Mobili, Juan
Mullins, Ian
Myers, Beverle Graves
Myers, Jen
Newell, Ben
Nielsen, Ayaz Daryl
Nielsen, Judith
Onken, Bernard
Owen, Deidre J.
Park, Jon
Parker, Becky
Pettus, Robert
Plath, Rob
Potter, John R. C.
Prusky, Steve
Radcliffe, Paul
Reddick, Niles M.
Reedman, Maree
Reutter, G. Emil
Riekki, Ron
Robson, Merrilee
Rockwood, KM
Rollins, Janna
Rose, Brad
Rosmus, Cindy
Ross, Gary Earl
Rowland, C. A.
Saier, Monique
Sarkar, Partha
Scharhag, Lauren
Schauber, Karen
Schildgen, Bob
Schmitt, Di
Sesling, Zvi E.
Short, John
Simpson, Henry
Slota, Richelle Lee
Smith, Elena E.
Snell, Cheryl
Snethen, Daniel G.
Steven, Michael
Stoler, Cathi
Stoll, Don
Surkiewicz, Joe
Swartz, Justin
Taylor, J. M.
Temples. Phillip
Tobin, Tim
Traverso Jr., Dionisio "Don"
Turner, Lamont A.
Tustin, John
Tyrer, DJ
Varghese, Davis
Verlaine, Rp
Viola, Saira
Waldman, Dr. Mel
Al Wassif, Amirah
Weibezahl, Robert
Weil, Lester L.
Weisfeld, Victoria
Weld, Charles
White, Robb
Wilhide, Zachary
Williams, E. E.
Williams, K. A.
Wilsky, Jim
Wiseman-Rose, Sophia
Woods, Jonathan
Young, Mark
Zackel, Fred
Zelvin, Elizabeth
Zeigler, Martin
Zimmerman, Thomas
Zumpe, Lee Clark

And the Teapot-Cat Wept

 

by Deidre J Owen

 

 

     He felt the breath gurgle in his throat as his lungs slowly deflated for what he knew to be the final time. Unable to blink any longer, he could only stare blankly up at the nicotine-tainted ceiling tiles. The air began to burn his eyes, and the crisp edges of an ugly water stain overhead started to blur. It looked a bit like a misshapen teapot.

     A strange hand slipped deep into his pants pockets—first one pocket, and then the other—brushing aside the flaccid member beneath in search of any trinkets that may have slipped down into the seams. Two hands then cupped his thigh and roughly patted each leg all the way to the ankle, jiggling his entire body and causing his head to wobble slightly against the cold, bare floor. His naked heel cracked painfully against the concrete when his shoe was unceremoniously yanked off his foot, knocked around, and discarded. The other shoe, yanked; the other heel, cracked. The hair at the back of his head bent and crinkled uncomfortably against his collar with all the jostling. He was due for a haircut.

     The coolness of the concrete had seeped through his suit coat and was beginning to chill him through the shoulders. He was keenly aware, however, of the warmth slowly spreading across his middle and tickling his sides as thick rivulets began to worm their way around to the small of his back. The teapot looked more like a cat now. 

     A stillness settled into his core when his heart beat its last. He felt it, that final beat, along with the heavy void that followed, that crushing emptiness of unmet expectation when what had been something was followed by nothing. What had been pounding with dread had fallen silent with doom.

     The teapot-cat was suddenly eclipsed by a fat, sour face twisted with concentration. He felt his body jiggle again, the assailant diving into the interior coat pockets and withdrawing a wad of papers. From the corner of his eye, he watched, helplessly inert, as the papers were examined one by one with soiled, sticky fingers. A violated receipt fluttered past his face, briefly tickling his eyelashes and eliciting a nearly imperceptible spasm of the eyelid.

     The sour face puckered into a hideous smirk while beady eyes traced the details of . . . what? What is that? He could no longer roll his eyes to see, but he knew. His exanimate arms lay limp and useless, flung hastily out of the way. They rejected his desperate commands to move, to twitch, to feel. They were gone.

     His arms were gone. His legs were gone. The excruciating pain in his stomach turned to ice. His mouth, agape, was filled with stagnating air, saliva pooling at the back. He wanted to gag. The broad expanse of ceiling above him had shrunk to an out-of-focus window through which the teapot-cat observed the grim scene in solemn silence, weeping the tears the dead could not.

    Without warning, the sour face filled that shrinking, clouded window and leered down at him over its chins. A gravelly voice, distant and distorted, warbled out of the gathering gloom.

     "Nice doin' business with ya, mister."

 

 

 

Deidre J Owen is a versatile writer who takes delight in exploring many different genres, including speculative fiction, weird fiction, children's fiction, humor, horror, and sci-fi. She has published several children's books as well as a number of short stories through Mannison Press, and flash pieces on her website at www.deidrejowen.com. Founder and designer at Mannison Press, Deidre is currently loving life in Florida with her family as a writer, publisher, and work-from-home parent.

Site Maintained by Fossil Publications