Agoraphobia

Day 2 (The Visitor)

     My parents responded to the ominous knock by peeking through the peephole. My father recognized the person on the other side and opened the door.

That's when the coolest woman I have ever seen swaggered in. She had an athletic build and was taller than either of my parents. She wore alligator boots, blue jeans, an orange plaid shirt, and a brown cowgirl hat over jet-black hair wrapped into a ponytail. A black patch covered her left eye. (An eye patch is not an accessory most women can pull off, but she sure could.) Her fingernails were short and painted flat black. She walked with confidence, oozing charisma with every step. And she was undeniably beautiful. The only thing that could have made her look cooler would have been a bandolier or a lightsaber.

I was eleven, but smart enough to know looks can be deceiving. Just because someone looks cool does not mean they are. And "cool" does not necessarily mean trustworthy.

"Your hat makes you look like Applejack!" blurted out Valerie.

"Why, thank you!" smiled the woman. "Applejack is my second favorite 'My Little Pony' character!"

"Who's your first?" I asked.

"Rainbow Dash."

That did it for me. I trusted her. Fans of the cartoon show "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" are a trustworthy group. If you're not a fan, I won't be able to explain why. And if you are, well... then you know.

"My name is Abigail," she said. "Please don't call me 'Abby'."

"My name is Samber," I replied. "Please don't call me 'Abby' either." Abigail's smile widened.

The three adults sat down at the dinner table. Abigail told Mom how she knew Dad from work and how she moved into loft 6B two weeks earlier. Abigail was a "building agoraphobic" who could leave her loft, but not the building. My parents revealed they were "apartment agoraphobics" trapped in the loft.

"Can I assume you agree we should all work together to increase our chances of survival?" proposed Abigail. 

"What do you have in mind?" asked Dad.

"Let's make THIS loft our base of operations. We can gather supplies and store them here. It makes sense, since you two can't leave."

They nodded in agreement.

"Is there any food in your refrigerator that will spoil soon if not eaten today?"

"That had not occurred to me," admitted Mom, opening the fridge. "These eggs will spoil rather quickly."

"Fine," shrugged Abigail. "It looks like we're having eggs for breakfast."

"We can't cook them," pointed out Dad. "The power is out."

Abigail took an egg and a clean glass. With one hand, she cracked the egg on the glass's edge, and the raw contents plopped inside. She brought the glass to her lips and knocked it back like a whisky shot.

My sister's upper lip curled back, "Eeeeewwww!!!".

Mom and Dad watched with expressions of amusement and mild disgust.

Abigail plopped a new egg into the glass and handed it to Dad, who smiled, but politely refused it.

"Woman up, Jerry," said Abigail, tapping the glass on his chest. "You need to set a good example." Dad still politely refused the glass. We grinned at this. Abigail sighed and gulped the egg down herself. "I don't think you fully appreciate our predicament," she sighed. "We'll likely need to survive for months on what little food and water is in this building. Before this is over, we might have to consume things like insects, rats, pigeons, cat food, mold, maggots, and distilled urine." Abigail lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "And those are just the things I want to mention in front of your kids." Mom looked somber, and the line of Dad's mouth tightened. "Sorry to be a buzzkill," she added, "but we've dark days ahead."