Monday, September 29, 2008

Rosie Heindel: A Story



King of a Glass Cage


My wife had taken our son to the restroom and I was glad to get a moment by myself. I sat on the bench taking in the majestic power of the lions. I shifted my weight uncomfortably as I studied the pathetic enclosure that kept them in. Thick glass separated the noble beasts from the carnivorous crowds. The cage was no larger than a modern day suburban house. Two lions drowsed lazily underneath a cement block which had an African safari scene painted on it. They looked bored. A large male with a mane full and wild looked straight at me with imploring eyes. He breathed steadily and defeated, king of a glass cage. The female, slightly smaller than the male, swished her tail nonchalantly.

My thoughts were broken by hideous scream from the bathrooms. I jumped to my feet. I started to rush towards the bathroom, but something inside told me that another form of action must be taken. I doubled back to the lions’ cage and pounded hard on the glass with my fists. He sat up, enlivened by my call for help. I pleaded with my mind, hoping glass wouldn’t muffle the wavelengths. Help me, Dear Beast, help me!

He rose slowly to his feet and shook off the dust. I pressed harder against the glass. The Great King glanced over his shoulder and I anxiously followed his gaze. The door! Ah, yes! I scrambled to the heavily dead-bolted door of the cage which smelled so strong of metal that I could taste it. It required a key to be opened. Frustrated, but not deterred, I pulled on the handle as hard as I could filled with super human strength. My wife and child needed me, I knew.

“Stop that man!” a voice from behind cried out. Two uniformed men ran up behind me, but I easily knocked them down with a quick swipe of my right arm. “What’s going on today?” a baffled woman exclaimed. “First a woman in the bathroom began to scream out of control because her life has become a bore. Now this crazy man!”

Some people gasped, others screamed, but all cleared out of the way as I tore down the heavy door with my bare hands. My war-like cry was indistinguishable from the roar of my king as he leaped beside me with his Queen. I grabbed hold of his wild mane and pulled myself on his back.

The baffled woman lit up with recognition. “Ah!” she exclaimed. I rode past her, to the bathrooms, to come to the aid of my distressed wife and child. When she came into view, she glowed like a metal rod which had been heating in the fire. She laughed crazily as she mounted the Queen and pulled our son up behind her. The people trembled with fear, joy, and excitement. Just before we made our triumphant exit I heard the repeated groan of a flamingo. I glanced over to see his pink wings fully extended and chest puffed out. The bold and intimidating squint in his eyes told me that he would not allow this extravaganza to go on.

2 comments:

John Skarl said...

"...a woman in the bathroom began to scream out of control because her life has become a bore"
What a strange jewel. Could you imagine the noise if the rest of the world caught on?

Bob said...

Ha! Deafening!

About Me

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I write short stories and essays. I have published well over one hundred stories, essays, and flash fictions or nonfictions in magazines or anthologies, as well as a novel, Jack's Universe, three collections of stories, Private Acts, Killers & Others, and Not a Jot or a Tittle, and two chapbooks of flash fiction, Shutterbug and Dragon Box. I grew up in a military family, so I'm not from anywhere in particular except probably Akron, where I've lived for forty years. Before I came here, I never lived anywhere longer than three years.