Mommy's Coming

This was my entry for the WritersWeekly.com 24-Hour Short Story Contest. I had to respond to a prompt given at a certain time and had 24 hours to write and submit my story in 925 words or less.

Here is the contest prompt I had to write about:

She was standing on the porch of a sagging cabin with bright yellow leaves collecting around her feet. As the cold wind billowed her skirt, she shivered and wondered if the owner of the purse really lived here. She knocked timidly and the door quickly opened, revealing a tiny girl holding a hideous, bald doll...

Here's what I came up with:

Mommy's Coming!

     "He still doesn't think my boobs are big enough. I just can't seem to win with him, you know?"

     "Hmm..." Derek said, trying to look elsewhere. Instead, he focused on the box she held with ribbons cascading down the front. "Why don't you put your gift on that table and perhaps we'll discuss this later."

     As the woman sauntered away, Derek heard giggling behind him. "They just don't leave you alone, do they?"

     Derek turned to find his sister-in-law wielding a large knife. "Guess not. You would think that even though I'm a psychiatrist, my wife's baby shower would be off-limits."

     Mindy laughed. "Think everyone's ready for cake?"

     The veranda at his wife's favorite cafe was filled with gossiping women drinking spiced cider and swarming around Belinda to feel her growing belly. "Seems like the right time," Derek said, wishing the day would go faster so he could catch the playoffs that evening.

    

     Mindy called everyone to the table where the cake was perched, and most drifted over. Belinda, however, stood staring into the street.

     Derek glanced over just as his wife burst through a nearby gate and took off running down the block.

     Mindy rushed to his side. “She’s doing it again, isn’t she? Didn’t she follow someone just last week?”

     “I think her episodes are getting worse. You know how she gets around the anniversary and Lisa’s birthday. She usually mellows out afterwards.”

     Mindy sighed, eyeing the decorations she’d worked so hard to make. “So, should we go after her?”

     The guests were all looking at them expectantly. “I think we have no other choice.”

***

     “They’re going to kill me,” Belinda said to herself as she headed down Sunset in pursuit of the woman and little girl. Imagining the disappointed expression on her husband’s face, she shuddered. But what if it’s really her this time?

     The woman with the torn bag adorned with faded sunflowers suddenly yanked the girl’s hand, pulling her out of the way of a speeding bike. “Watch it!” she barked, and instantly, the girl burst into tears. “You must be more careful where you goin’!”

    

     “But Mama – “ the girl whined, prompting the mother to swat her behind hard enough that Belinda could hear from the tree she casually stood behind.

     “Don’t sass me, ya hear? Now, come on! We got to get to the market quick so we can get supper ready for Papa.”

     Belinda stayed safely behind as the lady dragged her whimpering child toward the market. Keeping up while carrying thirty extra pounds was not easy, and as she stopped to catch her breath and wait for the lady to pick out their supper ingredients, she opened her purse. She

fingered a small hole in the bottom corner and slid along the seam. The Velcro she’d stitched in there parted, and she retrieved the picture she always carried with her.

     Belinda did not want her second husband to know she kept the only Christmas picture with her ex-husband and daughter on her at all times. Lisa had worn a red velvet dress with white piping and itchy tights, clinging to the doll Belinda’s mother had sent when she was

born. By then, it was pretty ratty, but when she was taken from the yard six months later, the doll was absolutely filthy and missing most of its hair. If only I hadn’t gotten that call, she thought yet again. The tear that trickled down her cheek landed on the picture, momentarily blurring her daughter’s face.

     Wiping the snapshot dry, she tucked it back into place. “I will find you, my darling. Mommy’s coming!”

     Looking up, Belinda stared right into the face of the woman who had kidnapped her daughter four years earlier.

     “’Scuse me, ma’am. Do you know if that bus is headed towards Ridgeville?”

     Belinda spun around to find a bus idling behind her. The marquee indicated it was headed south, and she knew Ridgeville was in that direction. “Uh, yes, I believe it is,” she stammered. “I’m going that way myself.”

     The bus was nearly full, and Belinda found a seat right behind the driver. She tried to use his mirror to view the girl several rows back, but she could not get a good enough look. Instead, she retrieved her picture again and fantasized the little girl was hers.

     When the bus finally stopped, she got off and rifled through her purse long enough for the woman and girl to pass. After they were well down the street, she resumed her pursuit.

     Several blocks later, the woman and daughter turned up the front walk of a modest house and disappeared through the door. Belinda eyed the sagging porch, trying to muster the courage to walk up its steps. She shivered, thinking this could finally be the moment she’d

been waiting for, and she surged forward. As she raised her hand to knock, she lost her nerve and paused.

     Suddenly, she felt arms encircling her. A sharp prick stung her thigh. The small house melted into the distance.

     “There now, honey,” Derek said in a soothing tone. He pulled his wife to the car where her sister was waiting. “You just need a good, long rest.”


     “Wait – “ Belinda started, but her eyes fluttered and her body sagged into Mindy’s arms. “Sh – she’s there –“

     “It’s okay,” Mindy cooed, gently stroking her hair.

     As the car rolled away, the door to the house opened. The little girl stood watching, a filthy, bald doll dangling by her side.