Daily story, December 26, 2024

He liked Shredded Wheat because it reminded him of the great hay bales he used to see through the windows of his parents’s car. But he didn’t eat Shredded Wheat anymore, because it was Nestlé. So instead, he crept into the field after sundown and started on the nearest bale, first as it came, and then with the honey and nuts he brought in his gym bag. He ate until sunrise. By then he was seven times the size, swollen with hay, ready to burst. He knew he would not get over the stile for a week. He lay down and waited to be weatherproofed in black plastic. He thought of his mother-in-law’s wickerwork trivets, and how much they reminded him of Shreddies.