Oatmeal in July
Harriet's bad memory was responsible for a lot of things: the missing and the misplaced, mistakes and misfortune making up her daily life.
As she approached 70, things had gotten a lot worse- at least one important thing was missing from every room she walked into in her house, and it sometimes took all day for her to find what she was looking for.
One particularly hot morning in July, she was considering calling her children for help as she attempted to make herself breakfast. It took her a while to find all of the ingredients: the raisins had somehow ended up in the freezer, and the oats on the top shelf of the cuphoard. By the time she put everything together and sat down with the steaming bowl of oatmeal, her phone rang with the number of her youngest daughter.
"Hi, sweetie." She got up and paced about the kitchen.
As she talked, Harriet noticed that she had accidentally put the raisins in the fridge this time. I was really sure I didn't move them, She thought. I didn't move the oats...
For a moment, she swore she heard a rustle in the dining room. "Dani, was that something on your end?"
"No," her daughter responded. "what did you hear?"
"Oh, don't worry about it, I'll go and check."
She left the phone on, placing it by the oats on the counter before going to the other room.
There, in the same place she left it, was the oatmeal bowl.
The problem was, it was empty.
"Well I never!" She glanced around, searching for the culprit.
"Mom?" Dani asked. "What's happening?"
"Oh, nothing!" Harriet pulled out chairs to checked under the table, before realizing how silly she must be looking.
"Enough of this!" She got back up, and to no one in particular, announced, "If you are going to be taking my food you might as well show yourself to me! Wait- It must be you who's moving my things too!"
What Dani heard next on the other side was her mother's shrieking, followed by an odd gurgling noise. Then, silence.
"Mom? MOM?!"
It seemed that someone- or something- else had wanted oatmeal in July.