Sunday, July 30, 2023

Curiosity Can Be Deadly

 

Nickel Novel

Title: The Cream

By: Jenny Joan Jensen 


For two weeks, Bob used the medicated cream his doctor prescribed to alleviate the rash on his legs, which it did. 

However . . .

One night, while doing his normal routine before going to bed, Bob mistakenly grabbed the medicated cream and put some on his toothbrush and began brushing. He did not realize the error until it was too late. Fearing he might become terrible ill, Bob quickly and thoroughly rinsed out his mouth, and waited for about an hour before going to bed, just in case he experienced any unpleasant side-effects. Thankfully, he did not.


IT WORKED!


The next day, when Bob woke up, something was oddly different. He had a mouth full of teeth! For the record, he only had 17 teeth before going to sleep. But now, all his teeth had grown back, including his wisdom teeth. Bob immediately slapped his faced a couple of times to make sure he was awake and not dreaming this miraculous occurrence. After confirming he was indeed awake, Bob rushed to the mirror and gazed at his beautiful, full rack of teeth. He could barely believe his eyes, but it was true!

His first thought was to hurry to the dentist and show him what had happened. Unfortunately, his wife had gone to Kansas City for the weekend in the only car they owned. So, Bob thought about what he should do, and who should he tell, but more importantly, who would believe him. 

Bob decided he needed to be certain before telling anyone. He went to the bathroom, grabbed the tube of cream, squeezed out a small amount, and rubbed it on his bald head. Surprisingly, in a very short time, hair began to appear! 

Five minutes later, he had an entire head of hair, and it had grown down to his shoulders.

Having twice witnessed the potential of this extraordinary cream, Bob began thinking about what else he could use it on. He paced feverishly, as he weighed a multitude of possibilities. 

He decided to do one more test, just to be sure. He hurried out to the garden and rubbed some cream on a small tomato plant. 

Baffled beyond belief, he observed the plant growing rather quickly, and flowers suddenly appearing. In ten minutes, the plant had grown six feet tall, and was filled with fifty, fully ripe and perfectly shaped tomatoes.

Bob was now convinced! This cream could make him rich, he thought. Utterly flabbergasted, he sat down and contemplated his options

Call my doctor? NO! 

My wife? She'd just think I was drunk. 

Who can I trust? My sisters? Nah, they're all crazy. 

As Bob mulled over his dilemma, he noticed an ant on the ground. Curious as to what might happen, Bob squeezed out a tiny amount of cream and dabbed it on the ant. 

The ant instantly grew ten feet tall and ate Bob

Shortly thereafter, the ant reverted back to its normal size.

After weeks of exhaustive investigating, Bob's unexplained disappearance remained a mystery. The nearly empty tube of cream the detectives found in the garden was placed in the evidence room at the police station. 

Ten years later, the police decided to officially close the case, and tossed the cream in the garbage



552 words


If'n you don't know what you got, you might ought not to fool wit it. 


j/k