The Girl 4

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Waking up Not Dead…

“Freight train, each car looks the same”. Distantly, foggily, weirdly the song permeated her brain. She couldn’t move, couldn’t see and felt sick to her stomach. Gradually, her senses awoke. Ann slowly lifted her head from the arm of the couch and moved her left leg. This movement created a loud clanging sound that sent Sam running to the kitchen for cover. Seems that the eleven beer bottles, perched precariously on the coffee table, had crashed to the floor. Still groggy, Annie sat up straight, rubbed her eyes and tried to focus. It did not work. She was absolutely unable to figure out the whole scene. “Did I have a party?” she thought. Just then, like a bullet, it hit her. “I am not dead”, she surmised. “Holy shit!” she said aloud.

Standing was a horrible idea. For it produced enough change in her equilibrium, that she projectile vomited across the living room. The smell was rancid. A combination of beer and garlic (most likely from her shrimp scampi the day before) and wine (OK, so she had one glass to set the mood of death) and aspirin filled the room. The smell of the puke made her heave again. The carpet was taking a beating. After the second spell had subsided, she ran to the bathroom, got naked and jumped in the shower. Gently, she turned the knob to left the cold stinging water became tepid, then warm and finally, hot. Ann held the glass shower door for balance, moved forward and dunked her head under the steaming waterfall. She would remain there for forty-five minutes.

After the immersion, there were no more puking spells. Her stomach muscles ache from all the contractions, but the empty chamber settled down. Ironically, however, she had a massive headache. It was ironic to her because she had swallowed an entire bottle of aspirin. “What do you take for a headache brought on by aspirin?” she mused. The smile actually hurt. Making her way back to the kitchen for a glass of water, the scene of the episode was a wreck. Sam was smart enough to remain in the kitchen near her food and water bowls. She knew her owner was in trouble, so she arose to meet Annie, whom now had only a towel on for clothing. Sam licked Ann’s still wet leg, and pushed her nose under her hand. “Hey you”, Annie said.

Ann pushed the glass under the ice machine in the door of the freezer and filled a huge glass with ice and water. She took a long, slow sip of the liquid. She could not remember any time in her life that anything tasted as good as that water. She opened the latch on the back door and strolled out on the patio. It was cold in the New York morning air. She rested on a chair whose cushion had been stored for the winter. Form the patio she could see the park several lots away. There was a small child being pushed on a swing by a man. “My life can never be that simple again”, she thought. Her strength returning, she made a vow to herself. No matter how fucked up and sad her life gets, she would never try to end it again. The man and little girl were hugging. Annie felt a tear on her cheek and realized she had been crying. Just then, Sam put her paws in Ann’s lap. Their hug made Ann’s heart feel better.


Song of the Day: Better Days, by Bruce Springsteen