Whitney Writes…

The somber mood followed the four of them into the dining room. Cirice was at a loss at how to make the evening fun again. She held out her plate and her father plopped a mound of mashed potatoes on it. Her mother cut slices of roast and slid them onto her plate. Elliot passed her the salad bowl and Cirice filled her own bowl, staring at the bubbles in her glass of sparkling water.

“Cirice, dearest, you’re going to take all the salad,” her mother said gently.

She refocused on what she was doing and passed the bowl off to her mother, with a whispered apology. She poked her food idly around her plate, not ceasing until she realized she had completely shredded her meat. Elliot squeezed her leg gently beneath the table.

“Enid,” he said matter-of-factly, “did I tell you about the trip my father and I took to Egypt when I was twelve to track the movements of the Hyakutake comet?

Inktober 2025, Prompt #12: SHREDDED🧡🖤👻🎃