The Woman

by

Merrilee Robson

When you’re homeless, you learn not to trust.

Disappear into the trees at the sound of footsteps. Be ready to run.

I’d seen her before, in the grassy space separating her small houses from the forest. My stomach growled at the scent of food in her house.

I dreamed of climbing through that open window, of a warm place to sleep.

But I stayed in the woods.

She must have known I was there, despite my caution.

She left water that I drank that thirstily after the windows of her house went dark.

I didn’t touch the food she left. I didn’t believe in kindness, so it must be a trick.

But the food called to me, drawing me out of the woods. Just a taste, then devouring it, licking the plate clean.

Then I was trapped, bundled into a car.

As my eyes closed, I knew I should have stayed away from the food.

I awoke to pain. Pain where….

Two women watched me in my prison.

“You did the right thing, neutering him,” the new one said.

“I hope so,” the woman said, stroking my head through the bars of my cage. “He’s such a beautiful cat.”

Bio:

Merrilee Robson’s stories have appeared in Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, The People’s Friend, Mystery Magazine, and many other magazines and anthologies. Her traditional mystery, Murder is Uncooperative, is set in a non-profit housing co-op in Vancouver.