Monday, December 21, 2009

luck

Amanda loved gambling...so much so, she was feeling guilty over the frisson of excitement she had entering this one.

Standing in line, she dropped the paper with her name on it into the kettle....then stood back with the rest as Michael reached into the pile of 39 pieces of paper, one from each of them, and paused before he read it aloud. Around her, cheers broke out, the frail volume masking the sounds of sobbing from the person who was named. Amanda sighed--wondering if Michael had fixed the outcome, wondering how long he could continue to do so without being caught.

That night, Amanda and Michael sat with the other 36 survivors; each enjoying their first meal in weeks, each accepting there would be another lottery, and soon. Amanda put her concerns and fear aside, turned to her husband with a smile and remarked she was surprised the meat didn’t taste like chicken, but, like salty pork instead.

15 comments:

  1. Now wouldn't that make a great TV show?

    (Cannibals used to refer to white man meat as "long pig")

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very enticing, painfully funny. Hadn't read your work for a while, good to see it again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. um.... EWWW!

    Remember "THE LOTTERY" from grade school? I want to say Shirley Jackson was the author and the lottery 'winner' got stoned to death to ensure a fruitful harvest or some such reward.

    Thanks, Quin. Thanks for taking me back to about two years worth of nightmares in my childhood. Bless your heart. (shaking head at 'tastes like salt pork')

    ReplyDelete
  4. (p.s. for my last comment I had to type the capcha "quary" spelled wrong, but boy, does it work!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW.
    All the razor's worth and more.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You never fail to deliver. Ever! And for that I've given you a shout out on my blog and nominated you for a Kreativ Blogger Award. Have a looksy over at my blog and all will be revealed.

    Kx.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love it! :D

    And what's with the use of upper case?

    Robert

    ReplyDelete
  8. whoa, even more eerie to read on Christmas Eve morning...made my oatmeal taste funny :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. robert~i like to shake it up a bit once in awhile.


    to everyone else.. thank you for the time and the read and the always treasured comments...

    ReplyDelete
  10. It just struck me, Quin: you used Capital Letters. I know you liked it. I know you want to do it again...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very enticing, painfully funny. Hadn't read your work for a while, good to see it again.

    How to make a website

    ReplyDelete
  12. I really liked this one. It has a very Twilight Zone reality twist at the end. I'm so happy we don't taste like chicken.

    ReplyDelete