Forlot: The Thanksgiving Horror - Book Fourteen

Chapter Six

I know that it was stupid of me to open up a package that I had no clue what was inside. But my curiosity got the better of me, so if I wanted to sleep tonight, I needed to check what was sent to me.

I noticed before I opened said box was that there was no return address. Even if I was not ecstatic with the gift, I could not return it. That was the first sign that this package was fishy, but I ignored it.

Speaking of fishy, when I opened the box, I instantly was hit with a foul smell. The smell was so awful that I pulled my shirt over my mouth and nose. Whatever was inside smelled like death.

Not only did it smell like death, but it was death. The death of an animal. 'Cause tucked away and folded in the box...was a fish. A dead fish.

I do not know what kind of fish that it was, but it was big and blue. What frightened me more than the fact that I was sent a dead fish was that it was folded. It is possible to fold a fish in half...but my poor fish was a mess. It was as if the person - probably the sender - snapped the fish's bones in order for its head to meet its tail. It made me sick to my stomach.

As if a dead fish is not bad enough, small bones were scattered all over. But these bones did not resemble fish bones. I am not an expert on bones, but I knew without a doubt that these bones did not belong to a fish. They looked like that they were a bird's.

I squinted at the bones and realized that they were a turkey's. They reminded me of the bones that I take out of my turkey every year during Thanksgiving.

Ugh. I mentioned Thanksgiving. I ought to clean my mouth.

The only thing that I enjoy on Thanksgiving is all the food that Mom prepares for us. Her cooking will be a hit or a miss sometimes, but she always steps up her game on Thanksgiving. She cooks the foods that you expect on Thanksgiving. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Green beans. Cranberry sauce. You name it.

My favorite food to eat - and her favorite to prepare - is turkey. I love turkey. It is my favorite meat. I love everything about the turkey. How it feels against my tongue. The irresistible smell. The juicy taste. Do you readers like turkey too?

I prefer Mom's turkey above all others because it is - oh my goodness. It is the juiciest and most delicious turkey that I have ever tasted. My gosh. It absolutely is irresistible.

I told Mom one time that she should sell some of her foods and drinks, especially her turkey, but she was uninterested and insisted that she likes cooking for fun.

She is missing out on opportunity.

I was closing all the flaps on the cardboard box when a visitor stepped into the room. I smiled when I saw that it was my best friend Emily.

"Hello again, Steven," she greeted.

"Emily," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that your mom was admitted to the hospital and thought that I should stop by to see how she and you are holding up."

"You did not have to come. But I appreciate it."

She tilted her head to the side. "So how much do you appreciate it?"

"Extremely. I am over the moon that you are here."

Emily was carrying a huge, black case, which told me that she had her violin on her. She absolutely loves it and treats it like her baby. I swear that if Emily has a human baby, she will tend to her violin more.

"I see that you have your violin," I said.

Emily crossed the room and carefully rested her case on the floor and against the wall. She smiled back at me and held out her arms.

"What are you waiting for?" she said. "Are you going to hug me or what?"

I walked towards her and wrapped her arms around her. She did the same to me and said how sorry she was.

"What are you sorry for?" I asked her. "It is not at all your fault that Mom had a seizure."

Emily gasped and covered her mouth. "My goodness. Your mom had a seizure?"

It was then that I realized that I had not told her that my mother suffered a seizure. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my pants and took a step back.

"Yeah," I responded. "She suffered a seizure after we ate dinner. It is weird because she has never had one in her life."

"She has never had dinner in her life?"

"No. A seizure."

"Oh." She shifted her head to look at my sick mother. "Is she going to be okay?"

"The doctors said that she will make a full recovery."

"That is a relief to hear, Steven."

"Tell me about it. They said that if those paramedics did not arrive in time, she would not have made it."

"Wow. You must be really thankful this year."

I narrowed my eyebrows at her. "What do you mean by that?"

She looked back at me. "What, Steven?"

"What do you mean that I must be thankful, Emily?"

"I-I just thought that you were thankful that she will be pulling through."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I am not thankful, Emily. I will never be thankful for as long as I live."

"But Steven...thankfulness is one of the best feelings that you can ever get. It is up there with integrity and initiative." She took my hands into hers. "Oh, Steven. If you would just give thankfulness a chance—"

"Why should I?" I interrupted her. "Why should I be thankful?"

"So you do not end up like...them."