The Knife Act

Ben Loory

…..A woman and her friend are in a knife store.
…..“Hey,” says the woman, you ever see one of those shows where the guy throws the knives at the lady?”
…..“Yeah,” says her friend, and the lady doesn’t get hurt?”
…..“Yeah!” says the woman. “We should do that!”
…..“Okay!” says the friend. “Okay, if you want!”
…..So the two buy lots of knives and run off to go practice.

…..“Do you want to throw or catch?” the woman says, a moment later.
…..“Catch!” says the friend. “I mean…”
…..Both women laugh, and then the friend goes to the wall, and the woman tentatively takes aim.
…..“Be careful!” says the friend.
…..“I will!” says the woman.
…..And she rears back and starts to throw.
…..The knife flies cleanly through the air– and lands perfectly in the center of the friend’s stomach.

…..In the hospital, the friend is very angry.
…..“You’re the one who wanted to catch,” says the woman.
…..“Yeah,” says the friend, “but not with my body!
…..“I told you I was sorry,” says the woman.

…..A few months later, the friend is released. She calls up the woman on the phone.
…..“Are you ready?” she says. “Cuz this time it’s my turn.
…..“Ready,” the woman’s answer finally comes.

…..The two of them meet at the practicing spot. The woman brings the bucket of knives.
…..“Here you go,” she says, handing it to the friend. “I’ll go stand in front of the wall.
…..The friend assumes the thrower’s position, and chooses a knife from the bucket.
…..“This one looks sharp,” she grins. “Very sharp. Let’s hope it doesn’t hurt too much.”

…..The friend squints her eyes and bends forward like a pitcher, then straightens up and goes into the wind-up. The knife hand comes up, and the knife hand goes back, and then the knife hand comes forward.
…..The blade flies out cleanly, whistling through the air, like an arrow toward the woman by the wall.
…..It’s just about to plunge into her heart–
…..When abruptly, it completely disappears.

…..“What?” says the woman. “Where did it go?”
…..“I don’t know!” says the friend. “And I almost had you!”
…..The two stand in silence, looking around.
…..“Do you think it’ll come back?” the woman says.

…..“It sure doesn’t look like it,” the friend finally says.
…..“Well,” says the woman. “What do we do now? Do you think you should try a different knife?”
…..They look to the bucket.
…..All the knives are gone.

…..“Hmm,” says the friend. “This is strange.”
…..“Yes,” says the woman. “I agree. And also, on top of that, I’m really getting tired of standing by the wall like this.”
…..“Well,” says the friend. “Let’s do something else.”
…..“Like what?” says the woman. “A movie?”
…..“I don’t know,” says the friend. “Anything, really. This whole knife thing got really boring.”

…..So the two link arms and slowly walk away, leaving the empty bucket behind.
…..For a while, the world is silent and still.
…..And then, off in the distance, there’s laughing.

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Ben Loory lives in Los Angeles, in a house on top of a hill. His book  Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day is currently seeking a home.