"BROKEN CURFEW "
by Antonios Maltezos
He could see her feet, the toes curled over the edge of the top step, and he could hear her voice.
"That you? Get up here."
He wanted to see more of her. He wanted to see her face before he could decide it was safe, but the staircase was too long and narrow, dimly lit, and the ceiling bulged, hanging low and smooth.
"Mamma?"
"Get up here, you little bastard (ping)." She ran out of breath at the word bastard. She was always doing that, finishing her sentences with a “ping” because of her emphysema, especially when she was angry.
She was shifting her weight. He watched as she lifted one foot and showed him the dirty sole. He guessed that she couldn't see it from the swell of her belly; and then he realized that between the bulge of the ceiling and the swell of her belly, she couldn't see any of the stairs.
"I'm coming down, you little bastard (ping)."
He had to answer her quickly, or at least begin creaking up the steps.
He knew she would fall, her old bones snapping from the top landing down to the first step up.
He might be crushed.
“That’s it (ping). Here I come (ping).”
He thought about it, and then stepped to the side quietly, his hand on the knob so he could open the door quickly.
---
Antonios Maltezos has stories online at Verbsap, Pindeldyboz, The Pedestal, and Slingshot Magazine. He also has stories in print at Night Train, NFG, and Musings: An Anthology of Greek-Canadian Literature, forthcoming in Ink Pot.
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