Caught in a Celluloid Jam

Ray sits down. He turns on the television. Fay is missing.

He has checked all the rooms, under every bed and in all the closets. She is missing.

He had started upstairs, in the master bedroom and its two large closets. The mirrors in the ensuite bathroom answered the question of what he would look like if he woke up in a panic.

It did not help. He’d accelerated until he was almost running through the rooms.

He regretted no one had seen his trip on the cord. The walls had offered no appreciation for the way he had made the stumble look like a graceful catch of the falling living room lamp.

The conclusion that Fay is missing is hard to challenge. Ray is sure he could not have missed her if she was still in the house. Then again, a lot of people missed a gorilla when they were counting basketball passes.

Turning on the news is the easiest way to look for a missing gorilla.