Where’s Superman When He’s Needed?

(600 words)

Monday

Took the coach to Skegness with mother. I loathe the place, all crowded streets, tacky ‘souvenir’ shops and the ubiquitous smell of frying, but she wanted a day out. The tide was in, so the beach wasn’t wide. We sat on the sand in an area of large black boulders. I think they’re to stop erosion. She read her latest book-circle title, Superman – A Retrospective. l listened to Tommy Bolin’s Teaser, the brilliant legacy of another heroin ‘victim.’ What a waste.

There was some sort of mist that made our eyes sting. We came back early. Others on the coach were complaining about it. One lady’s eyes were red and streaming, other people were coughing.

Tuesday

My eyes felt sore today. Mother complained too. Read on the internet that hundreds were affected. People told to keep away from Skegness and other places along the coast. Authorities haven’t a clue what’s going on. A chemical ‘spill’ at sea the most likely culprit, apparently.

Wednesday

Well, the ‘mist problem’ seems to have got worse. It’s now affecting the whole coastal area, with people being told to stay indoors whilst the authorities find out what’s going on. My eyes are OK now but Mother coughing a lot. I told her to see the doc, but she says she ‘doesn’t want to be a nuisance’! She seems confused, talking about Christopher Reeve as if he’s a close personal friend! Dementia is cruel.

Thursday

This thing is serious! Sky’s even changed the headline from ‘Mystery Mist’ to ‘Killer Fog,’ on account of the number of car crashes there’ve been. It’s affecting the whole East Midlands coast and has come up to fifty miles inland. Authorities say they ‘are working on identifying the problem.’ Tossers!

Friday

Well, the fog’s reached us here in Welby. You can’t see anything out of the windows and it’s impossible to drive. You can’t have the headlights on – too much reflection – and you have to keep the windows closed. Mother’s saying that Superman will sort it out. She’s gone completely doolally, poor old soul!

Saturday

Donna called round on horseback – with gas masks! Seems she’d bought a ‘his ‘n’ hers’ set of WW2 gas masks at auction a few years ago and found they’re still OK. Amazing!

She’d brought Jamjar on a tether. I hadn’t ridden for years but he’s a gentle soul. The horses’ eyes don’t seem affected but they’re a bit spooked by this bloody fog. We rode into town to try to get some bread and milk. It was so weird riding down the high street. You couldn’t see the shops until a few feet away and it was deathly quiet. All closed, but the Co-op windows had been broken. All the fresh stuff had been looted but we found some dried milk and Ryvita.

I managed to bring back a boxload of CDs, well if I hadn’t taken them, someone else would’ve. A mixed bag, including some ancient stuff. Been listening to the Beach Boys’ Surfin’ U.S.A. Still sounds so good, but don’t think there’ll be much surfing going on around here for a while.

Sunday

PM on the telly saying there’s no need for panic. Silly cow, she should come out here! The source of the fog’s still unknown, but they’re now saying it might be some kind of chemical warfare. Great! It could be the Russians, the Chinese, or even North Korea, not that it makes much difference. It’s reached the East End now though, so everyone is finally taking it seriously. Mother’s still asking if Superman is coming to the rescue. If only!
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