Darren munched on a cheeseburger and cursed as bits dripped onto his desk. His sticky fingers left marks on the computer keyboard.
He stared at the search engine. The clock was ticking. The newspaper deadline was looming. The news editor’s instruction had been specific.
We have a hole on page 15, he had said. We got a picture of a dead baby from a famine area who died of starvation. Gaza, someplace, he thought. Write 150 words, describe what happens to a baby’s body when it dies of starvation. Copy it from a medical website somewhere.
Write it before you go off to lunch.
Several keystrokes, a couple of drags of the mouse and the task was completed.
In the early stages, the body feeds on itself, especially glycogen, which is stored in the liver. When that’s used up, the body turns to fats and then muscles, and the body shrinks and the starving baby gets a gaunt, hollow-cheeked look.
The brain is deprived of the energy it needs to function. The body just slows down, as it takes energy from other organs to keep the brain and the heart going.
The heart slows down and blood pressure and pulse rate drop. Eventually, if infection doesn’t kill the baby, the heart fails. And that’s it.
Darren called the news editor. ‘Done it Jimbo, sending it now.’
Jimbo had forgotten his instruction. ‘Don’t bother we’ve got a better pic from Instagram. Harry Styles has got a new hat, we’re using that.’
Words: Richard Rooney
Illustration: A.I.
Flash Fiction 250
Flash Fiction 250 