Speechless
(Or, Without a Word)
By Jack Rousseau
She was cutting in the kitchen. He walked behind her and she said: “Don’t walk behind me while I’m cutting.”
He was speechless. In the drawer beside her, there was a rope. He opened the drawer and began looking for the rope.
“Don’t make so much noise while you’re looking in the drawer.”
Speechless, he found the rope and tied a knot. He took the tied rope, threw one end over the ceiling beam, attached the other end to the leg of a table, and stood on a chair. He needed to stand on a chair to reach his head through the noose.
“Don’t stand on the furniture with your dirty feet.”
To accommodate her request, he stepped off the chair but remained suspended by the neck.
“Don’t hang yourself in the same room as me.”
There was a bit of thrashing, and then it was over without a word.
After a few days, she was still cutting in the kitchen. She noticed him, still hanging by the neck, and complained:
"Don't rot inside the house, it smells awful."
- - -
Just as common people consume food and produce waste, Jack Rousseau produces absurd details of everyday reality and produces irreal fiction. Have you answered a phone today? Jack would tell you to unplug it, except that most phones are cordless these days. He lives and writes somewhere in Canada.
(Or, Without a Word)
By Jack Rousseau
She was cutting in the kitchen. He walked behind her and she said: “Don’t walk behind me while I’m cutting.”
He was speechless. In the drawer beside her, there was a rope. He opened the drawer and began looking for the rope.
“Don’t make so much noise while you’re looking in the drawer.”
Speechless, he found the rope and tied a knot. He took the tied rope, threw one end over the ceiling beam, attached the other end to the leg of a table, and stood on a chair. He needed to stand on a chair to reach his head through the noose.
“Don’t stand on the furniture with your dirty feet.”
To accommodate her request, he stepped off the chair but remained suspended by the neck.
“Don’t hang yourself in the same room as me.”
There was a bit of thrashing, and then it was over without a word.
Alternate Ending (After the Credits):
After a few days, she was still cutting in the kitchen. She noticed him, still hanging by the neck, and complained:
"Don't rot inside the house, it smells awful."
- - -
Just as common people consume food and produce waste, Jack Rousseau produces absurd details of everyday reality and produces irreal fiction. Have you answered a phone today? Jack would tell you to unplug it, except that most phones are cordless these days. He lives and writes somewhere in Canada.
0 Responses
Post a Comment
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
