Fiction: Items found in a foreclosed apartment complex

A cracked hookah repaired with duct tape, lying on its side in a closet.

A packet of photographs, held together with a rubber band that snaps as soon as it’s stretched. The photos are of a woman asleep on a beach blanket. Even though the pictures are faded, her skin becomes increasingly red with each photo.

A lease with the words, “Fuck You” written across it in magic marker.

A green upholstered chair with a faded brown stain. The stain could be coffee or hot chocolate. It is, in fact, the stain left from a cat who gave birth on the cushion. Of the six kittens, one died while the others were falsely sold as purebred.

A pair of hand-made pink mittens with strings attached.

A medicine chest full of expired drugs, the labels peeling off the brown bottles.

Four hard core S&M magazines, shoved under a floor board. Handwritten notes line the connections sections. When the building is eventually torn down these magazines will be ripped apart and the pages will be caught by the wind, fluttering high above the city like shiny, leathery wings.

A white board with a grocery list. Milk. Eggs. Oranges, Aspirin.

A letter to the tooth fairy asking for more money, promising more teeth soon.

A plastic Big Wheel trike, the wheels scuffed and the seat covered in NASCAR stickers. The name Mike is scratched out, Sarah is written in black magic marker in its stead.

A wedding ring, caught in a sink trap.

Four dusty shoeboxes, each hold a pair of worn out red bowling shoes wrapped in tissue paper.

A small teddy bear with one arm missing. The wound is stitched up with green thread. The bear was originally bought new for a girlfriend who soon left. It was tossed into a corner and forgotten, only to be discovered by a new puppy, owned by a new girlfriend who called it, “So cute!” and stitched it back together when the puppy started ripping it apart. The puppy, now grown, has moved onto more challenging objects and the girlfriend, now pregnant, worries about living with her parents forever. The baby, yet to be born, will soon have his own teddy bear that he will one day bring to college with him and give to his first real girlfriend who will leave him for a musician and eventually return with the bear and contrition.

A looseleaf binder with hearts and initials drawn on it.

A spice rack with the remains of curry powder encrusted on it.

A shoebox with postcards. One is from Niagara Falls and is written in block printing. It reads, “Alice says she’s never seen anything like this place. She says to tell you we’re having a great time. I don’t know why she didn’t just write to you herself. Love, John.” At the bottom of the shoebox is a cluster of dried petals.

A large jar with over four hundred dollars in pennies. It weighs – pounds.

A paper bag with several clumps of hair, each tied with a ribbon. Each clump is a different color and length.

A garbage bag full of brassieres.

(c) 2009 Laura S. Packer