FLASH FICTION : THAT RED LIQUID
Her eyes chased the gecko on the opposite wall. It ran madly to the end of that wall and suddenly stayed still.
“Did you hear me at all?” she quickly focused on her mother’s face. She had not really heard what she said. Her mother had a way of making simple conversation become a boring monologue. She would talk on and on, digging up unrelated issues and then inserting the relevant one when the listener had long lost interest. Half listening to the drone of her voice, Ireti had let her eyes wander about the room.
The mattress on which her mother sat was bare and flat. It was of a dirty, yellow colour with gaping holes where chunks of foam had been cut off, making it look like a long-forgotten cheese. Basins of water and plates peeked out from under the bed. She looked at the wall. An obituary calendar of a woman aged one hundred and three hung there. It was dated two thousand and sixteen which was a few months ago. If her mother doesn’t get a new calendar for the New Year, it would st…
“Did you hear me at all?” she quickly focused on her mother’s face. She had not really heard what she said. Her mother had a way of making simple conversation become a boring monologue. She would talk on and on, digging up unrelated issues and then inserting the relevant one when the listener had long lost interest. Half listening to the drone of her voice, Ireti had let her eyes wander about the room.
The mattress on which her mother sat was bare and flat. It was of a dirty, yellow colour with gaping holes where chunks of foam had been cut off, making it look like a long-forgotten cheese. Basins of water and plates peeked out from under the bed. She looked at the wall. An obituary calendar of a woman aged one hundred and three hung there. It was dated two thousand and sixteen which was a few months ago. If her mother doesn’t get a new calendar for the New Year, it would st…
