Around the Bend: Not Like Cynthia

"Are you Melissa?" he asked. I told him I was, and he gave me the parcel and walked away. He didn't even stay to explain who he was or anything.

I took the parcel to my bedroom and unwrapped it. There was a small plastic bag with something in it, and a little card, with instructions. At first I thought it must be some sort of joke. "One of the boys has done this!" I said. "What a scam!"

I read the instructions. They were mainly a warning to me, to be careful with the stuff in the bag. "This is a matter of life or death," the card said. "The biscuit in this bag is the only one like it in the world. The Eat-an-Enemy Biscuit Company makes only one per customer. You have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to get rid of one enemy. But only if you want to. The choice is yours. Just hold the bag in your hands and say the name of the one you hate most."

I did what the card said. I held the bag and said "Cynthia!" out loud. Then I looked at the stuff in the bag. At first nothing happened. Then it began to swirl and twist, like it was alive. It changed color and went flatter, until it was the shape of a human. Stuff like icing started to grow on it, and then the most amazing thing happened. The biscuit turned into a picture of Cynthia!

It was so exact I could hardly believe it. It was her face, and her clothes, and when I looked real close I could see all her fingers and even the finger nails.

I took the biscuit out and turned it over in my hands for a while. Then I checked the card again. There might have been some more instructions. But there wasn't. So all I had to do was eat the biscuit, and there'd be no more Cynthia. It seemed too simple. I thought, "Maybe this is just a big, stupid joke. What I should do is nibble a bit off and see what happens?"

So I nibbled Cynthia's foot off.

You know what happened after that, don't you, Mum? Cynthia's Mum rang you that afternoon to say that she couldn't make it to the Garden Club meeting because Cynthia was in the hospital. You got in the car and drove there, with me beside you. I didn't say much all the way, did I? Remember? You know why now. I was so scared!

We went to Ward 4 and stood beside Cynthia's bed. She was just waking up from her operation so she was a bit groggy. She tried to talk to us but the anesthetic was still wearing off, but her Mum and Dad were there. They told us what had happened.