A Collection of Short Stories

Main Street

 Meredith rushed down the steep hill on the crest of Main Street in the middle of town. The shopkeeper of the clothing store on the row remembered spotting her as she skipped down the lane humming a joyful tune much like the buzzing of the honeybees Ms. Fare kept in her garden.

Her mother testified she had sent her daughter to fetch a telegram from Mr. Smidt who had the unlikely delight of receiving such a letter meant for Meredith's mother. Ms. Smidt recalled returning the envelope, whose seal looked to have been broken, to the little girl and watched her place it in the saggy pocket of her dress which seemed to have once been yellow in color before Mr. Smidt invited the poor child standing on the stoop in for warm chocolate. Meredith, who was unquestionably frigid in her papery, knee-length stockings and stained, too-small overcoat, delightfully agreed, eager to experience such pleasure on a cold evening.

 As the lady of the house, Ms. Smidt bustled off into the kitchen to prepare the warm beverage, but when she returned, the girl had vanished. Mr. Smidt explained she had to rush off so she didn't catch a cold from the rapidly dropping temperature and so her mother wouldn't worry. Ms. Smidt did not think twice about the young girl's disappearance but stopped to mutter a quick prayer for her safe return home. 

Ms. Smidt finished her cleaning from the warm chocolate and dismissed the maid for what she assumed the night but unbeknownst to his wife, Mr. Smidt had the idea to gift the servant the weekend to visit her sister in Gruneville in a spontaneous thought earlier that evening. 

Ms. Smidt told the detective the following week that nothing seemed peculiar that night save that around 1 0'clock the next morning, her husband got out of bed to get a glass of water. He asked her to collect his Benzedrine pill from the medicine cabinet. This was not unusual to Ms. Smidt as her spouse has had trouble sleeping for some time now and the doctor has been prescribing Mr. Smidt with Benzedrine for a while. Ms. Smidt took one of the two remaining pills into her hand and groggily stumbled into the bedroom, listening to the howls of the wind before giving her husband the medication, being sure he swallowed it safely because of the scare he gave her a few months back when the pill became lodged in his throat. The couple then reportedly settled back down into the bed again and nestled among the plush blankets to protect them from the cold of the night. 

Ms. Smidt later swore that as she was drifting off into her slumber, she felt the bed shift and the spring squeak signifying her husband's return to the shadows of the bedroom. 

The following day, Meredith was reported missing by her distraught and frantic family who trekked across the newly fallen snow, caused by the first of a series of harsh storms that season, to the police headquarters. 

The following week, the Smidt couple was brought in for questioning. After hearing Ms. Smidt's testament and pleas of innocence for the couple, an officer entered an empty pill bottle that was at one time full of Benzedrine that could not be touched since the night of the kidnapping due to the fact that the Smidt's were required to stay in the motel on the other side of town during the extent of the investigation. 

No other evidence was found regarding Meredith's disappearance until next spring when the snow thawed and her body was found in the ditch along Main Street.

**VOCAB: 
 Benzedrine: a sleeping pill mainly used in the 1920s-1930s  
Telegram: a message sent by telegraph and then delivered in written or printed form
Telegraph: process for communication at a distance by electric transmission over wire 
Stockings: close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh
Overcoat: long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee

***EXPLANATION***: There is no true explanation for this short story, but I would like to point out that there were two pills in the bottle if we think Ms.Smidt's testimony to be true. I intentionally left an open ending so the reader can decide their desired ending: Was it an accident? Did Mr. Smidt kill Meredith? Was it completely unrelated to the Smidts'? Was it the wife? Did it have something to do with the important telegram? What happened to the telegram? All of these are fantastic questions! If wanted for closure, I can write Main Street: Part 2. Please leave a comment on what you like and dislike to help shape and mold what I write. Thank you!

**Thank you so much for deciding to read this short story! This is one of the first short stories I've ever written and I am excited to read all of your feedback!

                                       -DaughtersofAthena