Food

Date: August 27, 2022

Prompt #20 of @JonicaBradley : Food

FOOD

I picked the paper that dropped from my printer when the doorbell rang. I run to the door expecting the ringer to be a bearer of good news.

"Annie," greeted my neighbor, Karen, when I opened the door. My heart immediately sunk. I was expecting the police or some volunteer. "I heard about your Tommy, I hope you find him soon. Here I brought you some casserole, you're problem haven't eaten yet. Take some bite," she smiled, inviting herself in and putting the casserole over the kitchen countertop.

I sighed. It might be a good idea to have someone be with me, I was being depressed the whole week. "Thank you."

"We neighbors got to stand for ourselves, right?" She pulled a plate from the cupboard and scoop a portion of the casserole. "Here you go. It's my specialty."

I reached for the plate and took a bite. It was surprisingly good. I haven't eaten all day thinking about the flyers and the ongoing search party. I was also readying myself for all the possible scenarios that I have forgotten about food. "It's really good," I said smiling taking another bite.

Karen clapped her hand and giddily jumped. "Ow, thank goodness you liked it. If you need anything else just call me, okay?" She eyed the flyers I have put on the couch. "I'll take some. The more hands, the easier, it'll be, right?"

I nodded. "Thank you so much. I couldn't ask for more."

"It's nothing," she raised her hand smiling then she widened her arms offering me a hug. "It'll be okay, you'll find Tommy."

"I hope so."

Karen tilted her head to the right, "Don't think of anything negative. Right now, what you need is to be hopeful. I'm just next door and don't hesitate to ring me if anything comes up, okay?"

I nodded. Karen was really friendly right from the beginning when I moved in a year ago with Tommy. And she easily became my closest friend in the neighborhood.

"I will. I will. Thank you."

I was finishing the casserole that Karen gave me when the doorbell rang again. I raced to the door thinking Karen was back but a woman in her late twenties or early thirties wearing a dark blue hoodie greeted me.

"How am I help you?" I asked seeing that the girl was somehow agitated. She pulled something from her pocket and handed it to me. My eyes glowed seeing what it was, "Have you seen my Tommy? I asked excitedly.

She shook her head, "No. But I might know where he is."

"Where?" She shook her head again eyeing the inside of my house. I was starting to feel uneasy with our encounter yet I couldn't pass such information. "Do you like to come in?"

"Are you alone? It's better to talk to you alone."

I contemplated for a couple of seconds but I still let her in. "Okay, come in."

"Um... Do you like water or juice?" I don't have anything in my fridge beside juice and water. "Ow, I have some casserole. It's really good, would you like some?"

The girl shook her head furiously then she swallowed hard. "Did your neighbor gave it to you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Don't eat it." Without warning the girl run to my fridge and took the casserole out, dumping it's content on the sink. "She's not what you think she is. She's a witch and if you ever eat it.. you'll... Have you eaten? She gave you some, right?"

I was out of words. The girl was clearly not in her right mind. "Sorry. If you don't have any information about my Tommy, I think you should go."

"No. I do. I do. I do have something. You see, I used to live in this neighborhood four years ago. But when my Sebastian went missing. I couldn't get passed the loss and needed to move out." She handed a folded piece of picture. It was old and had been handled so many times that the color was washed away. "That was my Sebastian he's three that time."

I was confused, the same thing already happened four years ago in the same neighborhood. It was a great deal of coincidence but what does Karen got to do with it? "I'm sorry for your loss but what does my old neighbor got to do with it?"

"Everything. You need to purge your stomach right now if you have consumed the casserole."

"But why? You are out of your mind!" I raised my voice.

"Because she got your Tommy. And that old lady is not just an old woman, I tell you she's a witch."

I was about to say something but the girl throw a piece of meat from the casserole she dunked in the sink. I took it from where it fell on the floor. A scream filled my ears. It was a finger with a dark mole in it. It was my Tommy's.