Housekeeper

The rain pelts my umbrella, so I make haste to avoid getting drenched before my housekeeper interview. The last home I cleaned I left because there had been too much friction between the husband and wife. I didn’t want to be in the middle, so I quit. When I came across a post online of a wealthy couple looking for a house cleaner, I applied. It’s in an upscale neighborhood and I have a good feeling.

I ring the doorbell and a man answers. In the distance I hear a loud crash, and his face turns wan.

I walk away.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

A Loving Wife

Debra sat beside her husband’s hospital bed, the click of the monitor a regular tune in her head. Barry laid there, his breathing calm and steady. Seeing him hooked up to tubes and unconscious was an unbearable sight. Still, she read to him daily and hoped he heard, but his eyes never opened. It had been one year since his car accident. Trauma to the brain was what the doctor called it.

“I love you, Barry, but it’s time to let you go,” she gently kissed his lips.

As the doctor unplugged the monitor, Debra watched Barry’s chest stop moving.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

Everything Fades Before Its Time

Wendell stared at the woman he called his wife, debating whether to respond. For some reason, all he could think about was how beautiful she used to be.

At his bachelor party, his friends had taunted him that this would be his last night of freedom, that after tonight he'd only be with one woman for the rest of his life, but Wendell didn't see that as a prison. He would gladly give up all the woman in the world to be with Simone.

"Yes," he answered, without really thinking.

"You fucking pig."

Wendell returned to reading his sports magazine.

Not So Rosy

The technology was overwhelming at first, but as with all revolutions, people adapted eventually. The rose-colored glasses, as they were called, physically altered your appearance to more closely correspond to how people perceive you. The ads all showed some variation of a wife looking at her husband and seeing an Olympic athlete.

But Malcolm never quite accepted the way the device changed him so ruthlessly, to the point he had completely lost control of his appearance. It was especially distasteful to find the dog staring up at him and knowing that it was seeing a giant slab of raw meat.

The Daily Theme from Figment for February 27, 2012

Scarlett letters. Dunce caps. Golden stars. Beauty queen sashes.

Describe the day in the life of a character who has been punished or honored with wearing a physical badge of how he or she is viewed by the world.