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Fiction Short Story

by Joanna E. Lopez

Rest In Peace

The body lay sprawled upside down atop the long glass table, exhausted.

"Can she be saved?" Mary asked through a veil of tears.

"I don't know." Michael answered. "But I’ll try."

The roommate frowned as he hunched over the body to examine it. They had three heavy early morning classes and needed it alive! Mary tucked her dark hair behind her ear and wrung at a tissue as she watched.

"Screwdriver." Michael announced and put his hand out.

A screwdriver with a gold handle and a brown flashlight lay beside the machine. Mary took the screwdriver and slapped it in the middle of Michael's hand. His full lips flattened into a straight line of concentration as he meticulously unscrewed the silver plate and put it aside.

"Flashlight."

Mary took the flashlight and handed it to Michael. He flashed the light inside. Michael dipped the screwdriver inside the many-colored nest of entwined wires and began to work with a surgeon's precision. A quiet candle vigil had gone on outside their dorm room since word first got out.

"Handkerchief." Michael held his hand out again. Mary plucked Michael's handkerchief from out of his shirt pocket and softly patted the beads of sweat prominent on his forehead. A few minutes passed and Michael stood upright. He shook his dark hair away from his face and swiped a tear from his eye.

"It's no use," he sighed. "She's gone."

"No!" Mary sobbed. "She can't be dead." You've got to try it again.” Michael opened his arms wide and she walked into them. He held her small body against him as she continued to cry.

"It's ok," he said. "She's in a better place."

Mary lifted her face from Michael's chest.

"I'll have to tell everyone outside." Michael said.

"I'll go with you."

Michael and Mary held hands and opened the door. The students looked up at them, their eyes watery and hopeful.

"We're sorry, but there was nothing we could do," Michael announced.

Loud, howling, hysterical sobs filled the hallway as the students mourned the popular coffee machine's death.


About the Author
Joanna Lopez earned her Bachelor's Degree in English from Columbus University and plans to go back to school to work on her Masters degree in Creative Writing next year. She’s written many articles, short stories, book and movie reviews on Netflix and won an honorable mention award in the Writer’s Digest magazine contest. Joanna sold a short Hallowe’en story named “World’s End” to T-Zero: The Writer's Ezine and http://Writershood.com.  She has written political essays for http://www.Useless-knowledge.com and has another short story that will be published in the March issue of http://www.Ineedcoffee.com.  She hopes to sell more stories and articles in this coming year.