Now here she was. Stuck in a charity bin. What a fucking life.
THE BIN BEHIND CAVANAUGH’S BY DESMA CAPUTO 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 137 PREVIEW
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Lyssa lost a sandal as she ran. Grit and pebbles bit into her bare foot. She caught her toe on a crack in the sidewalk and sprawled face-first, knees scraping the concrete, skin tearing on her palms as she slid. She got to her feet and ran on, bare foot slapping the ground.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn’t run much farther. She spotted a charity bin, hooked herself into it and fell onto a bed of clothing bags.
The bin lid snapped back in place and dark engulfed her, darker than anywhere she’d ever been. Dark as a womb, she thought, before the first time you ever opened your eyes. Before you knew life existed. When darkness was all there was. She held her breath.
“Where’d she go?”
“Just let her be already. Man, I’m fucked.”
“Fuck that. Fucking bitch.”
“Well I’m out. You do what you want.”
“She probably turned off to JT’s up there.”
Their voices grew fainter. JT’s was a ways down, and Lyssa hadn’t been there in forever. He wouldn’t help them anyway. She and he went way back.
She sighed, drawing in another deep breath. The bin smelled metallic and musty. She could suffocate in this bin.