Denise picks through trash after her daughter has fallen asleep in the back seat. She scoops up discarded meals – half-eaten fries, broken donuts, torn chicken nuggets – trying not to think about other people’s germs.
Her ancient Honda is parked under the bridge. Twice the cops showed up. She could blame the economy, politics, bad luck. Who would listen?
The summer night is muggy and all the car windows are open so Jewel can get some air. To stay awake, Denise hums tunes from the Before Time. Nothing But Texas. Devil You Know. The Star-Spangled Banner.
Monsters, Jewel bleats. Mama, make them go away.
Jewel’s tears rinse her dirty cheeks.
It’s alright, Denise croons.
Jewel used to have her own room, a first-grade teacher, clean shorts.
Above, the moon spills light onto the car, the river a silver thread.
Jewel snuggles closer and Denise can’t help thinking the monster is here.
Prompt #17 involved choosing five words from a FlashFlood story.
Source text: 'Beating Odds and Keeping Time on Magnolia Street' byJen Wyrauch Edson.
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