Lil
Our neighbor Lil looked like a TV Indian, all sunbaked and leathery. She wandered the streets brokenly, ill dressed, barely attuned. She still recognized me. Then her calves grew putrescent and slowed her down.
And I learned about gangrene.
“She drinks a lot,” my mother said. “She’s so nice, poor Lil.”
She and silver-haired Jess lived in a tidy two-bedroom across the street. Apparently, he drank too. “A lot. They’re both so nice.”
“They are.”
“They’re both Okies, you know. They’ve been through a lot.”
When Lil set her kind eyes on me, all my teenage troubles vanished.
“They’ll amputate.”
Photo credit: Euan
Captivating story, perfectly done.
Quite difficult to read without being startled!
I hope that the surprise wasn’t terrible, but affecting. Thanks for your response!
Superb piece. So much in so few words.
Thank you!
Man, it was hard to breathe reading this one. It is fine … really, really fine.
Thanks, Tony!