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IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Phillip and Lady Jennifer left the party in the middle
because it was dull. Rather than go home they walked through
the Banisters' garden, down walks between hedges higher than
themselves. For a short time they sat on a bench neither
holding hands nor each other's attention. When it began to
rain they ran to the Banisters' garden house to escape the wet.

They had no raincoats.

As Lady Jennifer seated herself on a wrought iron white
garden chair Jennifer entered. She shyly glanced at Phi ll-ip
and stared at Lady Jennifer for a long time. "Raining outside,"
she said as she removed her wet green slicker and folded it over
a wrought iron chair near Phillip. The drops tumbled off the
rain slicker down the white paint of the chair and fell to the
floor only to be absorbed into a black wall-to-wall carpet.
Every drop showed on the black carpet, and was eventually
absorbed into it.

Lady Jennifer looked from Phillip to Jennifer astounded.
"You're me," she said. Jennifer's head nodded no. "But you

look like me."

"You're right to a certain degree. I'm me which is you,
and since we two can hardly be the same, I'm us. There was a
time when you were real and there was no me, but now they've
sent me to replace you. You're not the chosen one anymore.
You're not real, for now I'm real, and you don't exist. Just
like I once didn't exist."

Lady Jennifer, unaware that she could be wished out of
existence, only stared. Her stare was a mask. She looked down
her body in its blue party dresS from behind it. "You can'tfl do
this! •••I •••If you can, I can wish you out of existence toot

she exclaimed.

Jennifer stepped forward and the black carpet showed the
sole marks of her wet shoes. She said, "It's no use; I'm
replacing you. You have no choice. We've decided we're not
settling for what you do anymore. We're killing you off so we
won't see any more pictures of you. You won't feel any pain.
You just won't be anymore." Jennifer's voice became a loaf of
bread--sometimes it was a large full loaf, sometimes slices
peeled off, sometimes it was toast, sometimes stale, sometimes
fresh, sometimes buttered, always bread.

"I'm going to leave here and you'll never catch me.
Everyone will know you're not really me anyway. They'll
recognize you. I'm not afraid. You can't frighten me."
Lady Jennifer's voice became a crumb. "I'm going to my