Ian Smith
Would You Jump In Someone’s Grave So Quickly?
It happened too soon, and there wasn’t time to look twice. I made some snap decisions.
I bagged it all up, and then I was done. It wasn’t my house, and they weren’t my
things. I collected the bags, and I piled them outside in front of the house. Someone
had to clear the house.
I went back inside, and I sat on his last remaining chair. It was where he always sat.
I looked out of the window thinking of him looking out of the window all the time.
It was the last thing to go.
I saw a man lie a bike down beside the pile of bags I’d just put out. He opened one of
the bags, put his arms inside, and sorted through the contents.
He found something. He took out a mechanical scale, the sort that had a yellow furry
top, and a scale that spun beneath a glass. The previous owner’s footprints were
imprinted on the furry top. I knew the previous owner. That’s why I threw out the scale.
I stood up. I went to the door, and I opened it.
"Would you jump in someone’s grave so quickly?"
He looked at me. Then he wiped the glass with his sleeve, and placed the scale on the
ground. He zeroed the scale, turning the dial with a pointing finger as though he was
removing the weight of the previous owner.
He stood on the furry top. He looked satisfied with the mechanical accuracy of the
scale. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The scale was in perfect working order.
"Well don’t look twice."
He picked it up, and climbed back on his bike. He jammed his new weighing machine
under his right arm. He looked at me.
"I wouldn’t let anything to go to waste."
Then he cycled away, his death-defying balancing act, something for nothing.
THE END
Ian has a piece in Attack!!!! 2: Bones. You can also find out a lot more about him at his own website
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