Area woman Shane Daniels realized yesterday that she had failed to purchase and give a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift to her mother, whose body she left desiccating in the same sheets in which Daniels killed her. Hoping to make up for her blunder, Daniels sought a gift that would show both her care and conscientiousness.

“Maybe a box of chocolates,” Daniel whispered to herself to keep from being overheard by her mother’s pungent body, sitting in a nearby rocking chair. “No Shane, you stupid animal idiot! She’s allergic to nuts, and there’s no way to know which one is which.

“I mean there’s the stupid catalogue thing, but that’s always impossible to figure out,” Daniels said, quietly peering at the birds playing in the fountain outside. She hadn’t felt the sun in weeks.

Daniels’ mother had died some number of months ago — Daniels could hardly remember how many — after Daniels got fed up with being told to do “such bland tasks” as “take out the trash” and “stop putting that bleach in my wine.” Her relationship with her mother had improved since then, however, and Daniels reportedly did not want this new transgression to get in the way of what that relationship could someday grow into.

“Bath bombs. Shit yes. That is the way to go,” said Daniels to herself, wearing her mother’s wedding dress and crouching under running water in the shower.

Written by: Riley Mallory