Dinner

The bell chimes, letting the children know it's time for dinner. Mama waits for the last one to arrive. Her youngest boy dirty and slimy from playing in the pond, he is holding a smelly fish and jumping with joy. Mama takes the fish and washes it in the sink, smelling better than the child, puts it in the refrigerator. Mama tells the seven children to get ready for dinner. She has been preparing to serve this delicious dinner, for months just waiting for the right time. Mama can hear the laughter her kids make from above.





With the chandelier glowing from the candles, Mama tells them it is ready. This is a dinner Mama has been preparing for since the first child was born. Dishes outlined in gold, the main course in centered perfectly in her mind on the table. Seven children hop happily to their chairs. They have sat like this for many years. Each know where they go and in what order they will be served. Mama cuts the meat from the dish and places the food in front of her first borne, careful not to let the bloody juices ruin the tablecloth. At the tender age of 6 she yips happily with being served first.





Cutting a piece of meat, placing it in front of her, she prays a small prayer.

"Lord, let this dinner fill their bellies. Thank you for your gifts."

With that said they dig in. With what looks like a chicken wing, the eldest chews the rubbery meat.

"Thank you, Mama," she says.

"You are welcome,” Mama says as she is looking around the table.

Each child smiles at her and she feels the warmth in her heart. For years they have struggled to find food for dinner. Eating fish too often, this change is welcomed by all.

This dinner is no different, always trying to find enough food for them. Mama searched and searched to find the perfect food to feed them. After years of struggle she found the right amount. Mama wants this to be the perfect dinner since she gives her children seconds. She prays the children don't see the blood falling from the plate. The visible veins show where the blood comes from. Moving a hair off her plate she starts to feel light headed.



Mama knows her dinner is fresh, but she doesn’t understand why she is feeling strange.

"Maybe I did not cook it right; it was killed this morning so I don't understand," Mama convinces herself. Mama knows that isn't right, maybe she should tell the kids what it is they're eating. "No, I am Mama and I answer to know one!"

Where did this rage come from? It is not in her to be so bold. What has changed? Is it the meat itself? They have not had such a bounty for months and telling them would be a mistake. So she eats on and hopes her children will not look upon the platter and figure it out. Mama's children are content with their meal and thank her for the amount. They are satisfied, full tummies asked to be excused. She says ok and she notices how weird they all are walking.



Being Mama, she knows something is wrong with them. As her first-born falls straight to the floor, she tries to reach her. But her legs are wobbly, she feels like throwing up, and she does. Her children throw up too. Blood is covering the floor and her tablecloth. Mama's prize item looks like it was dipped in a can of paint. Mama's children fall and wiggle on the floor knocking the table with their limbs, mama's dishes fall to the floor breaking. Mama is horrified at the loss of her items. Crawling to her nearest child, a trail of blood is following from her bleeding mouth. Mama hits the child for the mess but it is a weak attempt. Mama is not the type of woman who hits kids and she apologies for it. But her words are stopped by another round of vomit.



Seeing her children flopping around on the floor, her regret evaporates. She knows they are dying. If she had known the food was bad she wouldn't have served it. But knowing how hungry her children are was worth it. She thinks it is worth it. The meat came at the right time and she would not change the happiness it brought her children. Mama knows they are dying and doesn't care. Their smiles are worth it. They were happy with their full tummies and she is content to die that way.





One week later...







A foul smell assaults the officers' noses. The back door to the house is wide open and they see a small hand. This hand is green with rot. Bugs of varying sizes spill out from under the hand. The officer walks over the body and sees what his worst fear is. They are all dead, but from what? Looking around the bloody room he tries to make out what was on the dinner platter. He sees hair, teeth, and a face. Screaming, he knows what killed them. They ate the neighbor's body. But what the family didn't know was he was sick with the swine virus and that was their demise. He talked to him about a week ago and he seemed healthy .Looking at this horror he runs from the room and out of the house. Heaving in the pond, he is forced to look around the area. Nothing seems out of place.



It is quiet, and that is unnerving. Not wanting to go back in, he pushes up and makes his body move. Reentering the two-story home, he is again caught off guard by what he sees. Their mother is holding on to two of what is left of her children. How could she let this happen? She knew there was help out there for her family but she would not take it. He knows that her duty was to raise and fend for them.

But the grim room outweighs the consequences.



Bodies exploded from the gas inside. Legs and arms are scattered from the release their bodies gave. The floor squishes from the liquids that ran from the extra bits of body. The meat of a person that sat on the table was the only think not decomposing. It is strange that had not happened. Was it the cooked meat of the virus that preserved this body? Only the experts will know. The public will know this horror soon and there will be no stopping it. He sighs and rubs his forehead and walks away.