Ms. Nosnam's Dinner

"Remind me where you found her?" Cher asks Tai, squinting at him from the passenger's seat.

"Craigslist. Mureum Nosnam" Tai replies, avoiding Cher's gaze.

"Craigslist... Craigslist..."

"That's what I said."

"Baby, " Cher began sweetly," Craigslist is for f&%king pedophiles! "

" Watch ya' mouth- "

" Poor Ana. She's hogtied- "

" What the f- "

" What if they try and sell her organs to the black market- "

" They're not- "

" What are they feeding her?! Unseasoned chicken. My poor baby-"

" SHUT UP! Why can't you trust my choices? Huh? I wish you'd put a little bit of faith in your husband. I'm trying. "

" How can I put trust in someone who's unemployed? "

" You're really gonna do that? "

" You can barely keep a job, how the hell you gonna keep my daughter safe? "

" Did you schedule a babysitter for our anniversary or did I? Are you forking up money to the landlords? So damn overbearing. "

" I just can't. I work all day. The people at the law firm hate me, and I come back home, and I don't even know where my daughter is. "

Cher sniffled, burying her face in her palms. Her tears slowly welled up in her hands, it felt like she had bricks of stress tethered to her ankles. She slumped over on the dashboard, her sobs infectious.

Tai's hold on the driver's wheel tightened, his teeth gritting, but the sound of Cher's sobs made his grip soften. His eyes grew moist, feeling his wife's pain embrace his own. He took one hand off the wheel, resting it in Cher's lap. Rubbing her thigh, he sighed, Cher intertwining her fingers with his.

" Stop worrying so much, Anayra is fine, baby. "

" I hope so. "

The Honda Civic 2009 whipped around the corner, rolling down an unmarked, concrete two-way. The wheels kicked the stranded pebbles off the road and into the raveen beside them, a plume of dust lifted in the car's rear, blocking the sign-botched by the mass of snow and dirt clung to it.

"Welcome to Snaleville"

The surrounding mountains were blanketed in frosting, piercing the clouds. The breeze was brisk, the forestry void of all animal life. The tree leaves were painted over white, yet the branches hadn't withered in the unforgiving cold. The gorgeous trees eerily loomed over the icy road. They drove further down the road, the snow and plant life suddenly disappearing. It was as if winter became summer, the heat abruptly pounding down on the couple.

" Global warming's really doing its work.. " Tai states.

Cher was bewildered by the weather phenomenon, looking in the rearview mirror and back at the road ahead, off-put by the contrast.

Bleak white houses filled the town, every single lawn, fence, and porch identical to the next, the only difference being the address numbers on the door. Tai pressed a button, making the windows slide down. There were no grocery stores or parks or cars.

The children played in the fire hydrants jovially, the old widows watered their rainbow-hued flowers, the mothers vigorously stirred pots of gourmet meals, the fathers watching their kids frolic. The noise died the moment the couple arrived, one may have been able to hear a feather hit the ground. The townsfolk all stopped in unison, staring at the car. They were smiling marionettes, every movement as robotic as the last. They waved at once, silently. Their eyes were black pearls, their facial structures perfect. It was as if they were molded into a Greco-roman sculpture. Cher fanned herself, skeptically glowering at the homes they drove by.