Salty Freedom
A Flash Fiction
Doris literally jumped from her bed at 5:00 am. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had that much energy. Granted, she wasn’t a regular 90-year-old. Although her kids claimed they had put her in a nursing home so she could “connect” with people from her age, Doris had always felt like an outsider in that place.
But not that morning. That Monday morning Doris was who she was always supposed to be.
Doris’s life at Comfort Time was seriously dull and dreary. There was too much talk about disease and sickness for her taste. The meals didn’t taste homey and spicy enough. The movie night was simply the most dated thing she could ever hope for. She had learned all of Clint Eastwood’s lines by heart now.
And let’s not get her started on the daily entertaining activities. A bunch of silly puzzles and boring board games. Doris sometimes would play with her fellow “inmates,” as she would like to call them, just not to disappoint them. She would often let them win just to see the smile on their faces. She could easily beat them all, as her mind was still sharp.
Sometimes Doris secretly wished that God would take her so she could see the “other side.” Not that she was depressed, she was just bored as hell. At this point, even a disease would be interesting. But she’d always been too healthy and…
