"Enter the Dame..."
by Sarah E. K. G.
A hazy mist filled the bus, or rather, it could be said a bus surrounded the hazy mist, for each had the same amount of consistency and weight, and the bus was solid with it. Where the ethereal spay of the morning sun found its way streaming into the array of windows along the vehicles side, it instantly turned into a glowing beam, dancing and alive with as much realness as if it took center stage in the Russian ballet. Millions of small planets, solar systems and galaxies existed in its brilliance, and its breadth, whether touching a piece of cloth or the old, cracked, red vinyl of the seats made the rest of the interier; a corpse in its apscense. In front of Iggy, an old opossum, wrinkled and weathered, bobbed up in down a seat against the wall. The light collided with his face across his forehead and folded down over the deep recesses of his eyes and the sharp point of his nose. The opossum's eyes closed, Iggy found himself examining his face, brilliantly aglow. Each crevice and wrinkle deeply set by the passing of time, each an experience, each a memory, each a story.
The stuffy, impenetrable air made breathing difficult and after some time of the bus's meandering throughout the bows of the city, Iggy was becoming very aware of the milk in his stomach. With every stop and every jerky start, every pothole the wheels of the bus found without difficulty and every outburst from the child located just inches from the back of his head, Iggy wished to be of those he could see through his greasy window. The thick coating on the glass translated the images of mothers, children and business-frogs into iridescent shapes and patterns.
As the bus rolled to a stop at 5th and Canal Street Iggy paid no attention to a blurred, red spot waiting to board. Iggy didn't even notice the red dress that entered and made its way back until it stood in the isle beside the Iguana. "Is this seat taken?" Breaking his trance and looking up, Iggy's eyes saw her. Even a motion-sick reptilian could not have missed this dish for long. A fox, her long bleached blond hair fell down over two perfect shoulders, providing an elegant backdrop to a cute nub of a nose. From there, the red, silken, body of a fitted, A-line dress which broke closely above the knee, picked up the line of her torso. She held a small yellow suitcase with a red piping that very nearly matched the red of her dress close to her side. Everything about her screamed trouble. Iggy was just about to smugly reply with his usual line for this situation, "So sorry ma'am, -but I've got leprosy real bad" when the Southern accent of her voice broke his concentration!
into a million pieces, "Excuse me, I'm not sure if you heard me, is this seat taken?"
"No. No one is sitting here." Well there it was, the damage had been done. Enter the dame and Iggy still had five blocks to go until Dick's Pool Hall.
"Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you, but I'm from out of town and I'm trying to find someone."
"Oh sure!" thought Iggy. "A town as big as New Stork City and this little brier thinks she can just pop in and one-two-three find whoever she wants."
"Umm, who is it lady? Maybe I know the person you're looking for. In my profession, I know a lot of animals."
"His name is Sam, and that's really all I know. He was married to my father's sister and I'm not really sure of his last name, but I have a picture...somewhere in here..." With that, she opened the small suitcase she had with her on her lap, and with much milling about, finally produced an image. "Here, here he is," she said, grinning with satisfaction as she handed the photo to Iggy.
"Ok, now let's see here," began Iggy as he rotated just his eye on the fox's side downward to view the faded piece of film. Again, Iggy was suddenly very aware of the soured dairy product bubbling up inside him. Between the tattered edges of the photo he held in his hand was the picture of none other than Sammy the Squirrel!
Just then, the overhead speaker cracked to life, "All off for Dick's Pool Hall! Last call for Dick's Pool Hall..."
What To Do??