Would you Like Flies with That?

I let out a small groan at the number of people queuing in front of the butcher's stall. Once again, everyone had waited until the last moment to do their Halloween shopping, and the supermarket was surprisingly crowded. I shuffled into the queue. A small, bald man with a funny polka dot bowtie was staring absent-mindedly at a pig's head behind the glass. Someone had placed a Halloween piece next to it; a spooky jack-o'-lantern that flashed its toothless grin at me. The thing gave me the creeps and I took out my frustration on the little man, shoving him aside. If he wasn't planning on ordering anything, he shouldn't be standing there, right?

The man squeaked a protest, but a glare and a bulge of my biceps made him shut his mouth. He tapped my elbow as if to say everything was alright and meandered away.

I scoffed and ignored him, my mind fixed on more serious matters: my girlfriend. Well, that's not true: Lea had me parked in the friend zone for so long, I'd become a permanent fixture there, like an abandoned, derelict car gathering crumbling leaves and dust at the corner of a back street. I, on the other hand, spent every waking minute – and many a sleeping one – aching for her, longing for her to see me as anything but her BFF.

I sighed as my gaze drifted back to the pig's head. Its eyes seemed to follow me, and I shifted my weight uncomfortably between my feet, trying to avoid its dead stare. Then, it blinked.

Sweat erupted on my forehead and I shuddered, my stomach suddenly lurching. I gaped at the head, and it met my stare with surprisingly lively eyes. Then it blinked again and a faint smile played on its thin lips. I jolted back, bumping into a butcher carrying a whole lamb from the freezer.

"Oy, watch it, mate!" he said, then noticed my pallor. "You alright?"

I opened my mouth to speak, then my eyes met those of the lamb on his back. It nodded at me in greeting. A scream caught in my throat. I must be hallucinating, I thought. Yes, that must be it. I steadied myself and drew deep breaths, struggling to ignore the lively carcasses around me. The lamb whistled a tune and the man shot me a curious glance before disappearing into the back. Pushing back in line, I stared dead ahead, hiding my shivering hands in my pockets.

The woman in front of me pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and leaned forward, only a thin sliver of glass between her nose and the pig's snout. She tapped the glass, a smile crawling on her face. A bead of sweat trickled down my temples as it lifted its eyes to stare at her. She cooed in appreciation and wiggled playful fingers, as if to attract its attention.

This was all too much for me. My trolley forgotten by the butcher's, I backpedalled to the exit, my eyes never leaving the chuckling woman. When the automatic door opened, I spun around to welcome the brisk autumn air on my face. Still shaking, I stumbled towards the parking assistant on my way to my car, when I noticed a van parked by the back entrance. I stole an absent-minded look inside and froze in my tracks at the sight of a dozen calves hanging from shiny hooks, skinned and bloodless. One of them turned its head and smiled an awkward smile me at me, as if to apologize for its state. I swear, had its feet been untied, it would have covered up itself in modesty.

Raising my fist to my mouth to stifle a shriek, I stumbled towards my car, my other hand rummaging in my pocket for the keys.

"Excuse me," the butcher I had nearly bumped into yelled at me, as he exited the store. Why was he following me? I lowered my head and hastened my step. "Excuse me," he repeated, catching the parking assistant's attention. Out of the corner of my downcast eyes I caught the new threat's shiny yellow vest as he moved to intercept me, standing between me and my car.

I bolted to the left, almost crashing into a sports car exiting the parking lot. "Watch it!" the man inside yelled as he slammed on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt.