The Hidden Secret (What can it be?)

Daphne just can’t seem to figure out why there are so many hot dogs, chicken nuggets, packages of bologna and cans of tuna in the fridge and cupboard these days. She swears she remembers a time when those items kept disappearing and she would have to call Allan, the young man who has been buying her groceries for the last several months, and ask him to go buy more.

“Allan,” she vaguely remembers saying. “Please go purchase more meat immediately. I need this kept in stock at all times; it’s very important, dear.”

But lately, sixty-seven year old Daphne can’t seem to use up the food fast enough. And though she racks her brain like crazy, she can’t think of the reason why she even told Allan to fetch such rubbish for her in the first place. For heaven’s sake, she would bet her life that she never liked any of that processed smelly full-of-nitrates type garbage. She can’t even stomach the thought of chewing on such vile junk food full of salt and chemicals. It makes her queasy just thinking about it. It seems like such a mystery to her. Why on earth is it in her house anyway? And so much of it to boot?

She sits in her easy chair and cries, the tears dribbling down her soft wrinkled cheeks and dripping down her chin. For no reason she can think of… not one… she cries. She wants to bawl her eyes out. She doesn’t know why, but she feels … lonely and weepy and … empty.

Even when Evelyn comes to visit and pats her back and says “now, now. It will be alright. You will feel better soon.” And then makes her hot lemon tea. Even when her son Daniel storms in with his two loud seven-year old twins in tow and they run circles around her yelling “grandma we’ve got a surprise for you!” And then proceed to give her all kinds of arts and crafts they made for her in school. And even when she turns the TV on at night and is lulled into a trance by her favorite show Anne of Green Gables, which distracts her for an hour or so. Even then… she can’t shake a strange kind of desolate feeling. A feeling of heartbreak and lonesomeness she’s never felt before.

But life goes on… at least for a little while longer and she’ll make the best of it. Thank goodness she can count on her family and friends to clean out her fridge and throw away all that yucky meat each time they visit her. She wonders why they don’t just get rid of it in one fell swoop, all at once. Oh well... she guesses it’s just another mystery she’ll never solve. A hidden secret. But it’s okay, that sensation of sorrow seems to be diminishing with each passing day. Not to worry, she’ll get past it soon enough.