:-P
It was the sudden breeze, sneaking down his open neck and chilling his insides, that reminded him. He almost hadn’t noticed it had happened, but David had left the house without his head.
Pausing at the bus stop to recollect his thoughts, it took several minutes for him to recall where he had left it. His pondering was very much hindered, as he was used to stroking his beard while he mused. But, with his head missing, he could only thrust his hands in his pockets to occupy them while he thought. Rocking on his heels, he retraced his steps from waking that morning.
Last he was sure he had it, David’s head was on his shoulders when he stood in the shower that morning, for he distinctly remembered washing his hair. Perhaps it was when he was in front of the mirror, during his morning grooming, for that was when he was distracted by the phone. His wife, calling home to remind him to take out the garbage, threw off his routine. Did it fall in the bin when he hauled it to the curb? A panic seized his guts.
No, he thought. He meant to shake his head, but was met with futility. Would have noticed that.
It must have been somewhere between then and when he let the dogs out one last time, that David had misplaced his head. Perhaps it was resting on the kitchen counter, in which case his wife would find it when she was home for lunch. If he was lucky, knowing that he would need it, she’d drop his head off at work on her way back into the office. This would be the second time she would have returned his head to him, and she’d be sure to tease him over it. David had almost left his head behind on their honeymoon, but his wife had made one last check of their hotel room before departing, and found it under the bed. He remembered her condescending smirk when she handed it to him, taunting sweetly she was surprised he’d kept it on that long.
Maybe it was in the back yard, having dropped from his torso when he wrangled the dogs back inside after breakfast. In which case, when his wife loosed the dogs that afternoon, they’d be tempted to bury it. He produced the cell phone from his pocket to call his wife at work and plead with her to search for his head on her lunch break. But he stopped, painfully reminded that, without a mouth to speak or ears to hear, a phone was a useless tool.
Anxious, David considered running home to look for it, but the bus was already looming up the street. He couldn’t afford to wait another half hour for the next line, and be so very late for work. He shrugged his shoulders, heaved a sigh, and fished his bus pass from his wallet. At least he hadn’t forgotten his wallet, then he really would have been in trouble. He could go a day without his head, he was sure. After all, people did it all the time. He was fairly certain his boss had lost his own head years ago, and been going without ever since.
Pausing at the bus stop to recollect his thoughts, it took several minutes for him to recall where he had left it. His pondering was very much hindered, as he was used to stroking his beard while he mused. But, with his head missing, he could only thrust his hands in his pockets to occupy them while he thought. Rocking on his heels, he retraced his steps from waking that morning.
Last he was sure he had it, David’s head was on his shoulders when he stood in the shower that morning, for he distinctly remembered washing his hair. Perhaps it was when he was in front of the mirror, during his morning grooming, for that was when he was distracted by the phone. His wife, calling home to remind him to take out the garbage, threw off his routine. Did it fall in the bin when he hauled it to the curb? A panic seized his guts.
No, he thought. He meant to shake his head, but was met with futility. Would have noticed that.
It must have been somewhere between then and when he let the dogs out one last time, that David had misplaced his head. Perhaps it was resting on the kitchen counter, in which case his wife would find it when she was home for lunch. If he was lucky, knowing that he would need it, she’d drop his head off at work on her way back into the office. This would be the second time she would have returned his head to him, and she’d be sure to tease him over it. David had almost left his head behind on their honeymoon, but his wife had made one last check of their hotel room before departing, and found it under the bed. He remembered her condescending smirk when she handed it to him, taunting sweetly she was surprised he’d kept it on that long.
Maybe it was in the back yard, having dropped from his torso when he wrangled the dogs back inside after breakfast. In which case, when his wife loosed the dogs that afternoon, they’d be tempted to bury it. He produced the cell phone from his pocket to call his wife at work and plead with her to search for his head on her lunch break. But he stopped, painfully reminded that, without a mouth to speak or ears to hear, a phone was a useless tool.
Anxious, David considered running home to look for it, but the bus was already looming up the street. He couldn’t afford to wait another half hour for the next line, and be so very late for work. He shrugged his shoulders, heaved a sigh, and fished his bus pass from his wallet. At least he hadn’t forgotten his wallet, then he really would have been in trouble. He could go a day without his head, he was sure. After all, people did it all the time. He was fairly certain his boss had lost his own head years ago, and been going without ever since.