Our Mole
- Liz deBeer
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
by Liz deBeer
Our little Mole rarely leaves her room, just scurrying downstairs for toast and tea in the morning or peas, potatoes, and chicken cutlets — nothing touching — in the evening. Mid-day, she burrows in her room, reading books or playing with paper dolls using just a dim flashlight, shades down, lights off, taupe paint morphing into shadows.
When she joins us at the kitchen table, we flatter her soft, velvety hair and adorable pink nose. She lowers her eyes, nibbles her food, occasionally squeaking with satisfaction. As soon as she finishes, she rushes back to her dark space, while we huddle together, wondering whether she’s old enough for therapy or medications or if she’ll be a mole forever.
One afternoon, Mother decides enough is enough and dresses Mole in a frilly, floral fuchsia dress with a matching floppy hat and black patent leather Mary Janes. Mole whines and squeals, begging to wear plastic sunglasses shaped like two big Cheerios. Mother argues that Mole’s eyes are so beautiful, why hide them, but finally melts to Mole’s mewling.
Holding hands, Mother leads Mole outside, down the sidewalk, to show off her little cutie-pie in the fancy outfit. The neighbors clap and coo, patting Mole’s head and smiling at Mother, who blushes with pride.
Until Mole wiggles her hand out of Mother’s clutch and scuttles back home, up the steps, into her cave to hide under the covers and sob, leaving Mother worrying while the neighbors talk about our family and our Mole.
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Liz deBeer is a teacher and writer with Project Write Now, a writing cooperative based in New Jersey. Her flash has appeared in BULL, Fictive Dream, Bending Genres and others, including as a WOW flash runner-up. She has written essays in various journals including Brevity Blog, and is a volunteer reader for Flash Fiction Magazine. She holds degrees from University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University. Follow Liz at http://www.ldebeerwriter.com/ and https://lizardstale.substack.com. Social Media Links: www.instagram.com/lizdebeerwriter https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizdebeer https://bsky.app/profile/lizdebeerwriter.bsky.social