2494. Shortcut © Bruce Goodman 30 July 2022

About once a week Maureen would visit her elderly aunt who lived a good hour away. Having travelled the road so many times Maureen got to know the short cuts. For example, if she took a back-country road she could knock maybe ten minutes off the time. It was a lonely road, and Maureen wondered why more people didn’t use it. She wasn’t going to announce it too loudly; such things are best kept unpopular. Last Thursday Maureen took the country short-cut as usual. She must have been on that road for maybe fifteen minutes. Rather suddenly her car stopped. She was in the middle of nowhere. Should she lock the car and start walking, or should she wait and hope perchance a kind person might come along. She decided to wait. Fairly soon a car approached but it didn’t stop. About an hour and a half later another vehicle approached. It stopped. Did she need help? Can we take you to the nearest town? What a lovely couple! Quite young, maybe in their early thirties. Almost instantly Maureen felt as if she had known them all her life. Delightful! “How do you find the electric car? they asked. “Never again!” exclaimed Maureen. “Look at me now! I shall never get another electric car in my life!” And indeed she didn’t ever get another electric car. In fact, this was the last time Maureen was ever seen alive. Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story