Everyone agreed that Lamby was certainly possessed, and that it was high time something was done.
A broken vase had been discovered, and the child accused.
"Lamby did it," said the child, and all heads turned.
The father felt certain that Lamby harbored powerful desires, barely concealed beneath its innocuous expression; desires that would certainly bring ruin and shame upon the family.
The mother was convinced that Lamby seethed with anger and longed to destroy them all in revenge for various wrongs. Did the thing ever close its eyes, even in the dead of night? No, it did not, so busy was the thing in planning its various diabolical machinations.
Lamby was removed from its only advocate, the now distressed and tearful child. "I lied," said the child. "Lamby didn't do it. I did."
"The thing MADE her do it, and now controls her tongue as well," opined the clergyman, having been summoned to the scene.
"We need punishment, to restore happiness," said the father.
"We need righteous fury, to restore harmony," said the mother.
"We must destroy it in order that it may be forgiven," thundered the clergyman.
As the three adults danced around the cleansing fire consuming her toy in the front yard, the child ran to a neighbor's house.
"They've gone fucking crazy over there," reported the child.
"Such language," tutted the neighbor, and took the child home, where the broken vase lay forgotten in the foyer.
_______
A parable for Artistic Interpretations at Real Toads.
Oh, yikes, and the scariest thing of all is how many kids encounter this craziness and spend decades trying to get over it. Powerfully penned.
ReplyDeleteLaughing out loud at you and that precocious kid! Wishing you joy during this festive season, Shay.
ReplyDeleteAnd I suppose you're trying to pass this off as fiction?
ReplyDeleteYour grasp of narrative never falters, nor that little knife you carry hidden in the oddest places--I was expecting a bit of black humor, but this is rasping the very edges of our teeth as we laugh--a very fine write, Shay--hilarious, sad, and terrifying.
ReplyDeleteChucky meets the exorcist... eek!😱
ReplyDeleteOh good lord too true!
ReplyDeleteYou could have written for The Twilight Zone. Creepy people and kids. Poor lamby.
ReplyDelete