I had seen it. Mouth open
with zipper pulled right back. Here was a monster waiting a victim. Mary’s
handbag had been placed on my favourite seat. As I moved towards it my eyes and
mind became distracted by a television news item. Suffering short term memory
loss, I decided to sit down. Then the nightmare began.
As my rump squashed the
handbag it came alive. It grabbed me. I resisted but the suction was too
strong. Down, down, down I went past a forest of paper. I glimpsed such things
as a car license, shopping list, an invitation to our grand-daughter’s children
tea party and a shopper docket. Trying to cling onto of one was fruitless. In
fact I cut my fingers on the sharp edges of the papers. At least my fall was
softened by a moist tissue.
There at the base of the bag
I realised I was a captive in a fake leather, slightly faded voluminous and
crowded bag. Cramped, confused and feeling claustrophobic, panic tried to ride
roughshod over me. Being a man however I knew how to cope. I screamed!
Unfortunately the soft sides of the bag muffled my cries. Taking a hold of
myself I did what any self respecting, self controlled man would do. I lashed
out and kicked the nearest item.
“Ouch!” That was silly; now I
had a slight gash on my shin from a collection of keys lurking in the crevices
like a metal spider.
Only one thing to do, climb!
Light seemed to trickle down from above, casting shadows due to Mary’s wallet
and credit card holder. Still I realised I had to escape. Loose change made my
footing unstable as I searched for the comb I knew she carried. I fell. My face
hit something hard yet sweet. A cough lolly. As I licked it I felt a renewed
sense of vigour, found the comb under a piece of Lego. This was probably taken
from our small grandson who had a habit of putting things in his mouth. I
placed the comb, with much effort, against the bag’s side. Comb tooth, by comb
tooth, I made my way upwards.
What the…? What was wrapping itself
around my leg? What had fallen on my head? A sense of unease was only overcome
when, in the dim light, I saw it was strands of grey hair. I never realised
Mary’s hair was so strong. It was like Tarzan’s swinging vines. I kicked, shook
and finally pulled my way clear.Who would have thought all
those jokes about a woman’s handbag would prove so true? So much stuff closeted
away in what I could now believe was similar to Dr. Who’s Tardis. Nervously I
continued my climb. “Careful now,” I said to myself, “don’t fall over the edge into the secret
compartment or you’ll never be found.”Drawing near to the top, I
sighed with relief which soon gave way to despair. Fingers had hold of the
zipper. Mary was home but danger lurked for me as she began to close the bag’s
mouth. Was I about to be devoured? Would Mary ever wonder what had happened to
me? And I hadn’t even kissed her that morning!
Tears of fear and frustration
joined in a torrential outburst of anger. Too late! I was doomed to wander
forever in Mary’s handbag. As I sank down in misery, a cry shattered my sorrow.
My eyes flickered. Light penetrated.
A voice spoke to me “Are you
alright my darling? What’s happened to you? Why is the chair upside down? How
did my bag become squashed and things scattered over the floor? Look at you,
you’re a mess and that bruise on your head will need some ice.”
Uh oh! How could I ever tell her the truth?
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