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The Forge SHORT STORIES
your little brain right out of your head!” She pats his metal scalp and his head slumps to one side. He falls out of the chair with a loud clank and the broomstick making up his left arm comes out of the socket. “Oh dear!” she says as she picks him up and puts him back in the chair. “Clumsy me!” She picks up his arm and sets it on the table in front of him. “I’ll fix that after dinner, dear,” she says as she looks to Sussie and frowns again. The canvas around her left eye has started to peel from the intense heat and the paint making up her chin has run a little. “Young lady, I told you to use that face moisturizer I gave you!” She waits for an answer but the timer on the stove dings. “Oh! The roast is done!” She walks over to the stove and fiddles with the space where the dial used to be. She looks at the timer. 5:32. She will have to deal with that broken timer later. She picks up the empty tray in the oven and sets it down on the stove top. She inhales deeply and sighs in satisfaction. “Who’s hungry?”
Spring 2021
