Liza's Pants (Fiction)-Inkwell Fiction Prompt 141

Liza’s divorce process was finally over after 6 months of struggle. She got the house, and maintenance for a little more than a year. As Liza pushed the door of her lawyer’s office, she remembered her last conversation with Dexter:

“We can’t have kids. We can’t be a family. I feel your loneliness and I can’t bear it. I feel like a stranger to you,” Dexter said facing Liza who was shocked.

“I want a divorce,” Dexter continued, unhappy.

Liza didn’t want to cry, but a hot tear streamed down her cheek.

“I don’t have a job. How can I provide for myself in this economy? I left my fun assistant designer job for you, for us! You wanted me to be a housewife and I agreed! How can I find another job like this in New York?! I’m too old. I’ll be 35 in a few months,” Liza said, crying.

“We tried. Life is not fair Liza, you should have known this by now,” Dexter replied taking Liza’s hands. “I can’t be with you knowing that I’m infertile.”

Liza had a tough childhood, with her father leaving her mother for another woman when she was 7 years old, they lived in a van. They made money flipping stuff. Liza worked day and night to study, and get a scholarship and then a job. She loved glamorous things, so she studied fashion. She was always in a rush, afraid she would miss opportunities. So, she jumped on any idea she deemed valuable. This included her marriage with Dexter. They met at a fashion show party when she was 26 years old. A year later, they got married. And Liza settled down in the suburbs.

The sky was cloudy, and it was about to rain. Liza didn’t bring her umbrella to protect her from rainfall. She was happy that she had already bought candy and decorated her house for Halloween the day before. The only thing left was to buy a costume. She always did this with Dexter, but now she had to do it alone.

Liza took a taxi to go shopping for Halloween. When she got out of the car, she felt the breeze of autumn air on her skin. This made her forget about Dexter. Liza was a bit of a shopaholic. She adored designer items. As she was browsing in the shops, she saw a second-hand designer shop. She smiled and walked inside. She thought she might find something of value there and get inspired for what to wear for Halloween.

As Liza was searching through the clothes, she found a pair of old but wearable pumpkin-colored leather pants. It was designed for Halloween for a Jack-o'-lantern was painted all across its front pocket section. The pumpkin looked rotten and had an angry expression. Liza’s head was down examining the pants when suddenly she was startled by a woman saying “Do you want those?” She was referring to the pants. Liza looked up, her heart pounding from the sudden scare, and said, “Yes, I’m buying them.” The woman wore a Victorian clown costume. Her eyes didn’t have pupils, she was wearing demon eye contact lenses. She looked like a scary demonic clown. The woman was annoyed by Liza’s response but passed her and went on to search for some other piece of clothing.

Liza bought the pants for 10 dollars. She decided to wear it with a pumpkin-themed black T-shirt, a black baggy coat, and black boots. It was perfect for the party her neighbors Anna and her husband Jesse invited her to, held at 8 p.m. Liza was hesitant to go to this party because she didn’t want to face Jesse.

Liza took a taxi back home. There were a lot of thunders, but still no rain.

When Liza got home, she felt a strange sense of fatigue. She put her shopping bags on the sofa and went into the kitchen to take her vitamins. That woman’s makeup style from the second-hand shop didn’t leave her mind, so she decided to do clown makeup. She wanted to look like a stylish mysterious clown, with a touch of horror.

When her makeup was done, it was time to wear the pants. It was a bit tight, and Liza struggled to put them on, but she finally succeeded in putting them on. She looked at herself in the mirror to admire the pants when she noticed it was about 5:30 p.m. All of a sudden, she felt a bit dizzy and fell on the floor. After about half an hour, Liza opened her eyes. It took some moments for Liza to be conscious of her surroundings. She felt a tingling wavy sensation in her legs. But, Liza ignored it.

There was a knock on the door. She got up, still feeling a bit dizzy, headed towards the door, but was faced with a blurry vision. She finally reached downstairs and opened the door. Five children ages from 7 to 12 repeated “Trick or treat…. Trick or treat.” Liza went back inside and took one of the candy bags, opened it, and filled the children’s bags. They smiled and thanked Liza.

Soon, another group of children knocked on the door, and she gave them candies. It was about 8 p.m. that Liza felt she couldn’t do it anymore. She had a party to go to, but she felt exhausted. Liza poured a glass of wine and drank it quickly. It provided her with a warmness inside, a sense of joy, and a carefree feeling. She got up to go to the party, she needed to socialize to feel less lonely.

Anna’s door was open, and people were busy chatting. Liza found Anna in the kitchen as always. Anna showed her love through cooking. She wore a dead bride costume.

“Oh, Liza! I’m glad you made it,” Anna saw Liza and waved at her. “Just a second, let me check the cookies.” The cookies weren’t cooked. So, Anna diverted her attention to Liza and asked a burning question, “Was it finalized?”

“How can I miss the party of the year!” Liza said with a smile. “And, yes! I’m officially divorced!”

“I want you to meet someone… I already told him about you! His name is Doctor Adam Allan. He is an orthopedic surgeon!” Anna said, but then she saw Liza’s lethargic face. “Are you okay?”

“Can I use your bathroom?” Liza asked, having regrets about drinking that much wine.

“Yes, sure! I’m coming with you!” Anna replied, curious to know what was going on with Liza.

Liza and Anna went upstairs. Liza closed the bathroom door. She was alone. She looked at her sad painted face in the mirror.

“Liza, I am right here. If you need anything, just tell me,” Anna said, worried.

“I’m fine. I’ll be out in just a minute,” Liza said and felt the need to use the toilet. So, she tried to unzip her pants, but she couldn’t. She tried several times but had no luck. It was like the pants were glued to her legs. Liza came out of the bathroom and told Anna about the issue. They both tried to unzip her pants, but they couldn’t. They were fumbling with the zipper, and about to use scissors, when Jesse appeared at the door frame.

“What are you two doing here?! What is going on?!” Jesse asked, surprised.

They were caught off guard and didn’t know how to respond to Jesse. Doctor Allan followed Jesse to tell him about the cookies burning in the oven. Anna, who smelled the burning cookies, rushed to the kitchen to take the cookies out of the oven.

“Won’t you introduce us?” Doctor Allan said, politely. He stretched his hands to shake Liza’s hands.

“Excuse me! I’m sorry Jesse. I need to go!” Liza ignored Doctor Allan, passed them, and hurried downstairs. She ran as fast as she could.

Jesse followed Liza, “Liza… Liza….I can’t let you leave like this,” he shouted, but Liza was already gone.

The smell of burned cookies filled the house. Anna was frustrated to see all her hard work had been burned. Jesse put on his raincoat and went after Liza. He didn’t notice, but Anna followed them.

It was finally raining, and there was thunder as well. The streets were empty. The rain made everyone retreat inside their houses. Liza ran until she was out of breath. Wet with rain, she stopped and breathed heavily, gasping for air. The rain smashed her clown makeup. She felt an itching sensation, and rashes spread out all over her body. Her arms, her face, her legs, all burning.

“Liza….. Liza… Stop…. Stop…..” Jesse shouted from a distance.

“I already told you. I can’t do this to Anna anymore! I can’t be with you!” Liza shouted, and while scratching herself, kept on running. Jesse reached her. They were close to Liza’s house. Jesse grabbed her arm, “I can’t live without you. I can’t end this! I need you!”

Anna was right behind them and overheard them.

“How long have you been cheating on me with her?” Anna asked, panting. Jesse released Liza’s arm, and stared into Anna’s eyes, panting.

“Anna, I know this is unexpected. I can’t be with you anymore! It’s over between us!” Jesse said facing Anna.

“How long?” Anna asked again.

“Three years,” Jesse replied, emotionless.

Liza rushed to her house and locked the door.

“You were cheating on me with my best friend?! And now you are ending our marriage?!” Anna shouted angrily. “I’m calling Dex.” Anna stormed off to her house, to call Dex. Jesse followed her.

Liza went to her bathroom and tried to take off the pants with scissors, but the scissors didn’t cut them.

Her phone rang. It was her mother. She rejected the call. Her phone buzzed again. Her mother wasn’t giving up. Liza shouted, answering her phone, “I can’t give you money…. Forget I exist…”

“Ok… Ok…. Just let me see you one last time. It’s been so long since I last saw you. You don’t talk to me! You don’t come to see me at the hospital!” Liza’s mom said with a shaky voice.

Liza’s mother needed money for her chemotherapy. She had breast cancer.

“I can’t sell the house. I can’t become homeless again…” Liza exclaimed and hung up the phone.

Liza took a picture of the pants by standing in front of her full-length mirror. She opened her laptop and searched the internet. She was shocked to read about the truth about the pants. They were designed by a tailor named Jessica Banewood. She designed a collection of pumpkin-themed leather pants in 1972. People who bought from her collection were all paralyzed. In no time, Jessica was banned from producing more clothing items. And all she designed were burned by authorities. They accused her of witchcraft, and “doing something sinister to the pants.”

After reading this, Liza couldn’t move her legs, they were heavy like a big stone. Crawling on the floor, Liza found her bag and looked for her lighter. She used it to burn the zipper. The zipper reacted to the flame. She heard cries as if the pants were alive. Liza panted and pushed to get the pants off. She heard heavy breathing from the pants as she was trying. She finally unzipped her pants. As soon as she took them off, she threw them. The pants landed beside the door frame. The eyes of the Jack-o'-lantern glowed and flickered. There were strange symbols stitched inside the pants, something that she didn’t see when she bought them. She put on a pair of sweatpants. And noticed her rashes were disappearing. With gardening gloves, she took the leather pants carefully and put them inside a plastic bag, then placed them in a corner in her backyard.

She could burn them, but she had another idea. She decided to sell them online. She made a listing on Lookforme.com, a website for buying and selling different used items. A buyer messaged her. She warned him about the pants being cursed. He accepted the condition and Liza sold the pants for 8000$.

As she was chatting with the buyer, her phone buzzed again. It was Dex. She rejected the call. She immediately got a series of hurtful texts from him swearing at her, saying he would never forgive her for cheating on him with Jesse. Liza didn’t care about Dex or Jesse anymore. Her survival mattered to her.

Liza went to the bathroom, and looked at her terrified tired face in the mirror. She washed her face of the smashed clown makeup. Then, she crawled into bed thinking that this world was a strange place. Liza didn’t blink for a while processing what just happened, her eyes were wide open. She had to ship the pants tomorrow and pay a visit to her mother and give her the money. So, she forced herself to close her eyes to get some sleep.