Eridan15

ERIDAN 15Short storyhe unlocked the padlock with his trusty hairpin. It was his lucky hairpin that had neverfailed him. He also took a lamp.The earth was still loose and the digging was easy enough. Mammy’s casket wasn’t buriedvery deep and after three feet of earth he bumped into it. It looked like a nice casket,painted shiny white. Someone had drawn weird symbols on it in red. He cleared more ofthe dirt until he could unfasten the top half of the casket. He placed the lamp next to it.A sheet covered Mammy Eleanor and when Eddie removed it he understood why. Therewere large holes in her chest, neck and face. In fact most of her head was unrecognizable,just an emaciated skull with desiccated flesh on it.“Hi Mammy,” he said and giggled. “You said I should come. And I did.” A single tear lefthis right eye and fell into the casket on Mammy’s hands. He remembered the face in thejar.Using a stick he found nearby, he gently removed the face and scalp from the jar anddropped it on Mammy’s head. He watched in gruesome fascination as the face seemed toslither into place from the eyes out. Her dark skin stretched taut across her cheekbones,forehead and chin.Mammy Eleanor opened her dark eyes and took a huge, gasping breath. Then she movedher head and looked up at Eddie. She smiled, but it was a hollow, worm filled smile asMammy’s teeth had not been buried with her.Eddie felt his knees go weak. “Mammy, is that really you?” he asked.Eleanor Rigby slowly rose from the grave. She stood before Eddie and put her right handon his shoulder. Then she spit out a few mouthfuls of dirt and blood.Eddie held up her teeth and Mammy picked them up and put them in her mouth. Sheclacked her jaws a few times.“That’s better, mon dieu,” she said in a hoarse voice.“It’s good to see you again, Mammy,” Eddie said. He looked at her apprehensively. “Iseverything all good now?”Mammy looked down at her body. “No, all is not good. My body is a wreck. It won’t lastvery long in this state.”“What does that mean?” Eddie asked.“Means I go back to the Baron, soon,” Mammy said and her voice sounded dark as thegrave. “We have an arrangement, Him an’ me.”“Is that bad?” Eddie asked.“Oui, mon ami, yes, it’s bad,” Mammy said. “Unless I can repair this.” She looked at herbody, then at Eddie and there was a deep hunger in her eyes which was more than thereflection of the blood red moon that had just risen above the horizon. Eddie took a25