Like They was Family

Whimper wimple woman, he said. This ain’t Asgard. He held a fork upright in his right hand—a knife in his left.

I want to strangle you blue, she said. I’d like to see your eyes bulge and the thick rope of artery throb out on your neck. She placed the maple syrup next to his pancakes as she said this.

I want to feel the spittle spray in my eyes as you squirm with the terrible realization of what is happening to you, she added, walking away.

You realize this is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a firm throttle, he said. He emptied the bottle of syrup onto his pancakes. It over-spilled the plate and metastasized out in a sluggard flare.

It means nothing—but for the bad can do to some stranger. Like they was family, she said.

“You said we are all violent.
It’s about finding the way out
that does the least damage.”

— Kimberly Casey / “Golden Hour”