Jul 2013
Martha woke up early and began combing the rats out of her hair with her thick bristled brush that also doubled as her first ***** the summer before she had turned eighteen and could legally go to an adult store and have her pick of *** toys. Martha often thought of that first experience when her hands gripped the handle tightly and she would often smile fondly and sinfully at the memory. She brought the brush to her hair and counted each brushstroke from roots to split ends until she reached 100 on the left side of her head and repeated the process on the right side of her head until her unruly auburn hair found some semblance of order.
She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Martha was not conceited nor too pretty but felt that she was a healthy mix of feminine wilds and tomboyish charms. She considered herself the girl next door even tho her nearest neighbor was twenty miles up the well traversed road and on the opposite side. Martha slid off her nightgown and pulled on her favorite pair of white cotton ******* before putting on a red bra. Martha did not care that they did not match nor would others’ opinions bother her if they somehow saw her in her unmentionables. She slid into a pair of ragged jeans that had tears in them from working in the family garden and a black tshirt that was loose but not loose enough to hide her curves.
She gave herself one more quick pleased look in the mirror and paused her eyes on her brush once more and walked out of her bedroom down the stairs and into the kitchen where the coffeemaker was making her a fresh *** having been programmed to do so the night before. Martha drank her coffee black and could not understand why anyone would mask the taste with milk and sweetener.
She poured herself a cup and went into the living room where her father was already awake sitting in his reclining chair reading the newspaper. Martha sat down on the couch and inquired about her favorite baseball team but her dad said he had yet to get to the sports and did not know the outcome. She asked to be told when he found out and he said he would let her know.
Martha finished her coffee in silence while her father read. She stood up, went back into the kitchen, rinsed her mug out in the sink, and yelled to her dad that she was going out and would be back in a little bit. She saw the top of his head over the chair nod okay and she walked out the kitchen’s screen door into the backyard where she kept her car parked.
Martha unlocked the car and opened the trunk, pulled out a container of gasoline and walked back to the perimeter of the house and began to slosh the fuel along the foundation and the siding. She put down the emptied container and went back to her car and slid into the drivers seat, put the key into the ignition and cranked it until it started.
She fumbled with the dial on the radio until she found a station she could tolerate and took a cigarette out of the glovebox and lit it, inhaling its fumes before tossing it half smoked towards the house.
As Martha watched the flames begin to grow from embers into an inferno, she put the car in reverse and left the driveway before moving the gearshift to drive and taking off down the road, sending a pile of dust into the air as her tires grabbed for traction on the dirt road and she sped out of sight of her house without looking back.
She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Martha was not conceited nor too pretty but felt that she was a healthy mix of feminine wilds and tomboyish charms. She considered herself the girl next door even tho her nearest neighbor was twenty miles up the well traversed road and on the opposite side. Martha slid off her nightgown and pulled on her favorite pair of white cotton ******* before putting on a red bra. Martha did not care that they did not match nor would others’ opinions bother her if they somehow saw her in her unmentionables. She slid into a pair of ragged jeans that had tears in them from working in the family garden and a black tshirt that was loose but not loose enough to hide her curves.
She gave herself one more quick pleased look in the mirror and paused her eyes on her brush once more and walked out of her bedroom down the stairs and into the kitchen where the coffeemaker was making her a fresh *** having been programmed to do so the night before. Martha drank her coffee black and could not understand why anyone would mask the taste with milk and sweetener.
She poured herself a cup and went into the living room where her father was already awake sitting in his reclining chair reading the newspaper. Martha sat down on the couch and inquired about her favorite baseball team but her dad said he had yet to get to the sports and did not know the outcome. She asked to be told when he found out and he said he would let her know.
Martha finished her coffee in silence while her father read. She stood up, went back into the kitchen, rinsed her mug out in the sink, and yelled to her dad that she was going out and would be back in a little bit. She saw the top of his head over the chair nod okay and she walked out the kitchen’s screen door into the backyard where she kept her car parked.
Martha unlocked the car and opened the trunk, pulled out a container of gasoline and walked back to the perimeter of the house and began to slosh the fuel along the foundation and the siding. She put down the emptied container and went back to her car and slid into the drivers seat, put the key into the ignition and cranked it until it started.
She fumbled with the dial on the radio until she found a station she could tolerate and took a cigarette out of the glovebox and lit it, inhaling its fumes before tossing it half smoked towards the house.
As Martha watched the flames begin to grow from embers into an inferno, she put the car in reverse and left the driveway before moving the gearshift to drive and taking off down the road, sending a pile of dust into the air as her tires grabbed for traction on the dirt road and she sped out of sight of her house without looking back.
Unedited.
