Snap
Flash Fiction
Henry was sensitive about his potbelly. The other fourth graders were skinny and fast runners, and they never played tag with him. Even Justin, the autistic kid, was allowed to play some games.
Walking home from school, he stopped in front of Sally Hernandez’s house. Auntie Sally owned a tomato farm in town and her place was three stories tall. She also owned an overweight ginger cat named Jerry. Jerry lay on the sidewalk and Henry crouched down to pet him. He rubbed the head, the fluffy back, and even got away with scratching the stomach.
He picked him up by the armpit and stared. “Look at you,” said Henry. “Just like me.”
He turned Jerry around and hugged him from the back, gently squeezing the marshmallow abdomen, up the woolly chest, then the neck.
Henry closed his eyes and stiffened his arms. He felt the snap, the spasms. It went on for a while. A good while. He felt the beat of its little heart slow down to nothing as it went limp on his chest.
Wet shit dripped from the cat’s ass and some of it got into Henry’s shoes. “Disgusting,” he whispered. He tossed the carcass all the way to middle of the road. Maybe a truck would drive over it.
Henry felt a little hungry and looked forward to his afternoon merienda.
This one’s explicit, but I hope it will find its place on Illumination. I hope a few readers would appreciate a bit of darkness every now and then. Cheers!
