NIGHT PARROT PRESS / IWD 2025
1 min
Next Door Neighbour
Melanie Hobbs
Joan heard him before she saw him through the gaps in that old fence. At fourteen months he still couldn't walk but shuffled on all fours, an eerie shadow in the moonlight. At least he wasn't screaming this evening. There was something wrong with that child.
And the mother. Constantly pacing the yard clutching that boy of hers to her chest, all sunken eyes and greasy black hair. She was always crying out in pain because the baby would scratch her or pull her hair, yet she continued to attempt to soothe and bounce and pat. Joan was glad her children had been good sleepers.
She noticed the woman had left the washing out again and made a mental note to tell her. The infant hobbled closer to the fence. Where was the mother?
The boy continued to hobble closer and Joan noticed he was holding something. Dragging it along. A trail of long, black hair fanned out behind him.
The mother stifled a giggle as she heard Joan's scream. That hairdresser mannequin's head was the best thirty-nine dollars she'd spent.
Melanie Hobbs is a second-generation Australian writer with Singaporean, Malaysian and Tamil roots. She teaches high school English and lives in the Perth hills with her husband, kids and dog. Melanie's work has been published in various journals including Verge, Westerly, Portside Review and Swim Meet Lit Mag.
'Next Door Neighbour' was published in Three Can Keep a Secret, Night Parrot Press 2022
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