by Sherry Morris
One day Mommy and Daddy brought home a baby. They said it was ours and was joining the family. I took a look. It was small and bald with a wrinkled face and yuck in its eye. Mommy kept cooing, ‘So precious’. Daddy’s phrase was, ‘What a beauty.’ I checked to see if they were talking about something else. They weren’t. They’re always coming up with odd ideas, saying I needed a playmate and how difficult it was to be an only child. At least they’re right about that! They brought home a cat once. It lasted two weeks, then jumped out a window that’d been left open. Would the baby last longer? I suggested putting it in the cellar. No windows there.
Like idiots they put the baby in their room and nobody slept a wink. Putting it in the wheelie bin seemed perfectly acceptable–Daddy said that’s where Mommy’s alarm clock belonged when it made awful sounds. Mommy said, ‘Don’t be silly’ and took the baby back.
Mommy says now the baby is six months old, we’ll play together. I doubt it. I look at it (finally!) sleeping in its cot. I wait for it to get bigger. Nothing happens. I’d heard giving a pinch helps grow an inch. Turns out that isn’t true.
There are Danger Stairs in our house. They give big hurties. Mommy and Daddy put a gate up and always check to make sure it’s closed. Nobody knows how the baby fell. It can’t tell us. Certainly not now. They took the baby away; it wasn’t even crying. Mommy was. A lot. Daddy says the next few days are critical. He’s hoping for the best. Me too. It’s certainly not easy being an only child, but I’m doing the best I can.
October 15, 2016 at 9:34 am
Love it! Being an only child is difficult but I’m doing the best I can – to be the only one. So funny too, more please 🙂
LikeLike
October 16, 2016 at 8:23 am
I loved the rhythm. It was well built and with a good pun in the end. Loved it.
LikeLike
January 30, 2017 at 5:02 pm
Great pace, fantastically dark. Wrapping it all in a breezy child’s tone makes it so much more sinister. I could definitely read a whole cupful of this. Oh, and that poor cat too!
LikeLike
February 1, 2017 at 10:44 am
Love it. The pace is set well and the piece feels fully encompassing of a child’s thoughts. The absolutism expressed is a nice means of rationalising the actions of a child which both makes it dark and have a sense of cynical/dark humour.
LikeLike
February 5, 2017 at 11:11 am
A despairing nightmare unfolds, subtle unfortunate tale – just my sort of story.
LikeLike
February 5, 2017 at 5:13 pm
Loved it, fast paced and creepy! Dark humour and gripping, my kind of tale!
LikeLike
February 8, 2017 at 4:50 pm
Great pacing and a nice build up to let the reader’s imagination run wild.
LikeLike
February 10, 2017 at 10:18 pm
What a lovely feeling of dreed you get when reading this. We know the baby is doomed and yet a part of us still hopes for the best! Brill. (Also, great author photo!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
March 6, 2017 at 12:12 pm
The child’s voice is authentic and like someone said makes the tale even more sinister. I was drawn in from start to finish and though I expected the ending it was no less chilling! Well done!
LikeLike
March 25, 2017 at 1:38 am
I’ve got to say that it left me both terrified and sad, poor baby, innocence is the perfect mask for evil.
LikeLike
March 26, 2017 at 2:34 pm
The ending line made the piece beautifully haunting. I really enjoyed how you used child like language throughout the piece. It helped to establish your voice as the child. Haunting and mysterious. I enjoyed it through and through. Thank you!
LikeLike
October 17, 2017 at 10:34 pm
Great story. As a mother of a toddler, I find this very disturbing!
LikeLike
October 22, 2017 at 9:24 pm
Ha, I love it!
LikeLike
May 10, 2018 at 12:13 am
Nice, disturbing story, Sherry. Always enjoy your work!
LikeLike