WHO ARE YOU?: My Entry for FFFC #156

For the visually challenged writer, the photo shows a woman sitting on a chair looking out of a large window at a long suspension bridge on a gray, foggy day.

https://fivedotoh.com/2022/02/14/fandangos-flash-fiction-challenge-156/

HOW THE CHALLENGE WORKS:

Each week, a new, interesting photo from the internet will be posted by Fandango on This, That and the Other (fivedotoh.com) challenging bloggers to write a flash fiction piece or a poem inspired by the photo. There are no style or word limits.

………

Maureen’s blue-grey eyes followed the steady stream of vehicles on the bridge. She leaned forward in her seat, nose inches from the windowpane, hands clasped tightly in her lap.

“Look, those cars are the size of bugs!” she said, a childish smile blossoming on her face. “Teeny-tiny bugs…”

Thirty-year-old Kenneth nodded and forced a smile when Maureen turned around briefly to look at him. He dug his fists deeper into his jacket’s pockets as she continued babbling about bugs and gardening. His eyes wandered around the unlit room. It’s absolutely freezing in here. Spotting the heater in a corner of the room, he took a few long strides towards it.

“DON’T TOUCH THAT!”

He started, very nearly tripping over his undone shoelaces.

Maureen gripped the wooden armrests of the chair, her eyes wide and skin dangerously pale. “Don’t touch that,” she repeated in a whisper, tugging at the sleeve of her red cardigan.

Kenneth backed away from the heater slowly, all the while holding her chilling gaze. He could see the muscles in her face relax visibly as his back met the wall. Maureen smiled sweetly, the ageing skin around her eyes wrinkling, and turned back towards the large window. She laid her bandaged right hand on the cool glass. “I’m hungry,” she murmured after a pause.

“M-me too. What d’you wanna eat?” asked Kenneth softly.

Maureen’s previously warm expression suddenly turned stony. “What was that?”

“Oh, um, I said—”

“Who are you? What are you doing in my room?” She stood up, speaking to his reflection in the glass. “Leave. NOW!”

“But—”

“Police!” She turned around, lunging across the table for the landline. “Call the police!”

“Alright, I’m going, I’m going!” Kenneth rushed out the door and slammed it shut behind him. His heart thudded in his ribcage as he listened to Maureen yell her lungs out, followed by something crashing onto the floor.

“We’ll take care of it,” said a young blond lady, accompanied by a brunette, both dressed in scrubs.

Kenneth nodded gratefully and moved aside to let them through. He cupped his hands over his nose and mouth, exhaling shakily into the hollow created by them. He could not believe it.

He could not believe the woman inside was his mom.