Page 61 - Contrast1988Spring

hoping to see if the postman had left an\lthing for her. She
choi uld n't actually see into the box, it had Jbeen ~ placed much to

19h for that, but she peered anyway. "Bless her soul, she

:ould try every night, though" was how her family would
,emember our young heroine when they would congregate to

celebrate holidays and gossip family gossip. So tucking her
newspaper under her left arm which already clutched a beat-

up, cosmetic-filled handbag, she reached up with her now free
nght ,~m and searched the metallic il1sides of the box. Feeling

the shInY synthetic paper of a large official business envelope,

her hand instinctively and excitedly clutched her prize. She
pulled 11 from the box in a rather rough fashion and gazed
down immediately. She saw the back of the envelo,;e first. It

~ad "FINAL NOTICE - IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY WITH
HETERMS OF THIS INVOICE BY JAN . .31, 1984, WE

WJLL BE FORCED TO TERMINATE BOTH YOUR
ACCOUNT AND YOUR PERSONAGE."

Very much disappointed, she tossed the envelope into

th~ shrubbery that surrounded and guarded her house. "Don't
thInk you guys will get the honor of killing me first" she said

flo~l,d to the unknown letter senders ,~s she entered the hom~.
t was a home, not only a house. A I1Ice home as a matter of
fact, but she paid very little attention to the its tiny details since

the home had come furnished and she didn't have to worry

abo~1t such things as furniture or little magnets for the
refngerator. People rarely pay attention to things given to
them. She tossed the unread newspaper and her handbag on
the foyer floor and went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

She would need it for the wait. She then turned on the TV,
~ipped through th~ channels and decided a self-help show,

Self-Realization Through Degradation," would be her
evening's entertainment~She ;atched almost intently as a
young muscular man, who had gotten his big break in show

business when the fitness craze swept the nation. gave our

heroine tips for a better life. "WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU
STUDY YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR AT LEAST 15
M1NUTES DAILY. YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO .
IDENTIFY THE PERSON WHO WILL BE YOUR RAPIST
IF YOU CAN'T IDENTIFY YOURSELF." She sipped her

Contrast Spring 1988 57