Prompt 9

Words: hot, cold, mild, warm

Ayda was fat and lazy. She would drive (daily) in her old, beat-up, and messy Dodge to her nearby sandwich joint, and ordered her usual: a foot long sub (cold cuts), a large bag of chips and a super size soda with a sweet bear claw to boot. Besides her massive hunger pangs, Ayda was a hoarder. After driving back to her apartment, she had to walked through piles of old newspapers; clothing, unwashed food containers and a million empty cat food cans. Her two dozen cats all had their personal names and Ayda loved them to tears. Ayda loved her cats so very much that she put up the turds and horrific smell. The one thing Ayda kept clean was her beloved hot tub. She loved that thing more than life itself. It was big enough to occupy her large, naked body and the jet streams relaxed her. Most times sleep crept in and she slept for hours in the tub. Her world vanished in the tub - her need to organize her life, rotten and waisted, was beyond repair.

One morning she turned on her electric stove and waited for the rolled surface to warm up to red. It was a national holiday so the sub place was closed for the day. Ayda, as usual, was starving. She had to cook, and cook a load of food of what remained in her frig. After finding only a box of baking soda and a tray of ice cubes, Ayda became discouraged and prepared her hot tub (her haven). She removed her clothing, stepped into the tub and eventually fell into a deep sleep.

Thirty minutes later Ayda woke to the smell of smoke. She staggered out her tub, and discovered that most of her apartment was ablaze. She was able to run out the hallway, naked and in a panic, banging on doors as she rushed toward the exit signs. By the time the fire fighters arrived, eight apartment units were destroyed. To say Ayda was in a mild mood, would have been equal to saying she was blissful – in a state of ecstasy. Ayde was in awe and was steaming with anger. A fireman covered the obese woman, naked and grotesque, with a large coat, and questioned her about the mess. Ayda was mute; thinking only about her cats, her hunger, her hot tub.