Heatstroke: A Short Story

Lucy’s shoes clip-clopped along the concrete like a sticky metronome. Approaching a hot dog vendor, she said, "What types of mustard do you have today?"

He responded, "I had a pure-breed Schnauzer but he only has three legs now." He then handed her a sweating bottle of water before turning away.                                                                                                       

A few feet away, a metal newspaper dispenser reflected the harsh sunlight. She stepped closer, blinking at the headline… THE HOTTEST DECEMBER ON RECORD CONTINUES.

“Again?” She muttered. A woman stopped to look at Lucy.

“When I pull the wings off flies, I call them walks.” She laughed, handing Lucy a hard candy.

“Okay,” Lucy said.

Lucy continued down the sidewalk, taking a swig from the water bottle. The moment the clear liquid touched her lips, she threw the bottle into the street. Whatever had been in the bottle cascaded into a drain. “What was in that bottle?” Another empty eyed person passing by stopped Lucy.

“It was just this bad yesterday. You’ll get used to it,” they said.

Before Lucy could speak, the strange person continued down the street. The harsh sunlight bounced off of the bleached sidewalk, and Lucy lost the person in the blinding haze. The light melted everything around it into a blank sheet of nothingness. Lucy had no idea where she was going.

“Hello?” She called out. Through the bright sheet of light, a man appeared.

“I stole her heart, because I love her more than she will ever know.” The man smiled at her, pressing a card into her hands. After taking a few steps, he disappeared. Lucy opened the card, finding an accurate drawing of a heart in maroon ink that was flaking away.

“I don’t understand,” Lucy mumbled. The sunlight caressed Lucy’s cheek, burning and blinding her simultaneously. “Will someone help me? Please, someone help me! Please.” The fire burned even more of her body, traveling the length of her torso. A man grabbed her by the shoulders, and he slapped her.

“Stop screaming, you’ll wear yourself out. You should conserve your strength.” He shoved Lucy into the whiteness, and she felt cold snow on her burning flesh. “You brought this upon yourself. You should have thought your actions through. Most consequences only occur during your life, but this isn’t one of them.”

The blinding white light continued to burn Lucy while the snow forced her breathing to slow. The white light was eventually taken over by dark nothingness. The metronome of her steps continued. It sounded like the knocks onto an iron gate. It was so hot for a December, she felt like it had been hot for an eternity.