and gristle, overwhelmed me. This could have been
new life, a new beginning. As I gazed at the pulpy mess
a startling clarity of thought hit me. Maybe, after all, it
wasn’t too late for a renewal of life… of a sort.
A short while later I went to the back door and
called to Mamma and Zack to come inside. At the
sight of Missie’s ravaged corpse Zack gasped, trem-
bling, and turned his head away. Mamma said nothing
as she stared at the mutilated remains of her eldest
child, but I saw her gaze fix on the abdominal slashes,
the trail of blood and viscera on the floor.
I cleared my throat quietly so as to get
Mamma’s attention. When she finally turned to me I
reached to the counter behind me and with a flourish
presented her with what I knew was the best gift I
could ever give her.
“For you, Mamma,” I said proudly.
It lay nestled in a bed of salad greens, a tiny
morsel cooked to perfection, medium-rare, the way
Mamma liked her steak done. I’d used one of the good
china plates, the ones set aside for special occasions
only.
Wordlessly, Mamma reached out and took the
offering. She looked for along moment at the bit of
life-meat, then picked it up and placed it in her mouth.
She chewed slowly and I wondered what she was
thinking. For just a moment I thought I saw a gleam of
bitter satisfaction in her eyes, before the omnam-
bulistics expression once more cloaked her face.
48