It was a hot summer day when the family’s plan for her unfolded. Maude was no one’s favorite, the second daughter ahead of two boys. The new man in their mother’s life had her pregnant with his child and demanded she only keep one of her own children.
With too many mouths to feed, the boys went to their grandparents and when no family members stepped up for Maude, she was placed in an orphanage. Her droopy eye and generally ugly appearance made her a target of mean kids while being avoided by people seeking a child of their own. Years passed as the bullying worsened.
One day a boy who befriended her was walking the edge of a well. Maude warned, “Be careful.” Two sisters were there and pushed him. He lost his balance and fell forty feet, cracking his head on the way down.
“I’m telling!” Maude shouted and ran for help. “Mr. Danube, Cindy Barr pushed Timmy into the well!” They left immediately and met the sisters in the courtyard.
“Maude pushed Timmy into the well,” Cindy said stopping Mr. Danube in his tracks. He looked at Maude as Kim, Cindy’s sister said, “It’s true, Maude pushed him.”
“But I didn’t,” Maude insisted. Mr. Danube didn’t know who to believe with sisters corroborating their lies. In the aftermath of Timmy being found dead, it was Maude receiving the suspicions. Timmy was well liked and Maude became hated.
A life of being bullied and scorned fomented with no escape in sight. At sixteen, forced to work in the kitchen, assigned the worst tasks, there came a day when Maude had enough. Amid talk of Maria, the real cook returning tomorrow, the time for revenge was now.
The plan that festered for months began in the infirmary and transpired in front of a pot of stew. She stirred in the spit along with enough tranquilizer to drop an oxen or two.
“Maude is that stew hot enough yet?” Leah asked. “They’re lining up to eat.” She was nice but not really.
“Here, try it,” Maude said turning with a spoonful to shove into Leah’s opening mouth. Leah swallowed it and said, “It’s hot but you better add pepper.”
It wasn’t forty minutes after serving the stew until Maude stabbed her groggy coworker in the back and entered the quiet cafeteria. Some time passed before the groans of those awakening were many, causing her to look up from the cookie sheet before her. Marinated, baked and ready to serve victims with no taste for what Maude perceived a new favorite comfort food.
“What, no one has anything nasty to say?” She walked among them as they struggled to move. She stopped at Cindy, pointed to the cookie sheet and angrily said, “This one is yours!”
DAGilberthorrorwriter 