Free Food on Thrusday

Here comes another car," one lady pointed as a beat-up sports car dating back to the 60s came up to stop beside them.

"How many do you want?" She asked, holding up two bags one in each hand. "I'll have three, the pleasant woman replied as she reached out the window to collect the bags as they were handed to her.

"What was that soup you handed out last week," she asked. "I want that recipe. She smiled and kept talking, "My Mas... she stopped talking and started again, "my husband loved it!"

"It was just a simple vegetable soup," another woman nearby chimed in as she walked up to hand two more bags of food to another waiting car.

"It was the best, he said, that he'd ever eaten. Might I pull over and get that recipe?"

"Sure," another lady tossed in. "The person who made," she nodded and pointed, "is that kindly looking lady over there by the blue car in the blue jeans and red shirt." She continued pointing further down the line.

Quickly the car pulled in and slide into a parking space near the railroad tracks, quite out of the way of other cars and the ladies handing out food.

Days passed like they always do. Some eventful some quiet and peaceful. The folks from the church continued to hand out bags of food for lunch one day a week, around noon and the lady in the old car continued to stop and get some to take home every week.

As time continued to pass it was noted that more and more people were stopping to collect the bagged lunch food. In fact, people were starting to talk about going to pick it up and wondering how many bags they'd be allowed to collect before they were considered selfish.

"I'm thinking if I go in my own car," one lady was telling another lady at the grocery store, "and then go again in my son's car I can get more bags without anyone noticing that I'm collecting it." She turned her head away from the crowd so that only her friend could hear her. "I'm putting it in the freezer for later eating."

"How many bags did you collect last week," another lady asked as she'd heard the conversation.

"That's none of your business!" She assured the lady and stepped up to pay for her food order.

Her friend leaned into the lady who asked and whispered into her ear. "Ten!"

They both gave her dirty looks and walked off, each considering how they could collect ten or more themselves.

At the church...

"What do you mean we didn't have enough food for the waiting cars?" the minister asked as he'd been informed that people in cars waiting for the food were disappointed when there was no more to be given out.

"We've just been overwhelmed with people who want our food," one of the ladies who gave out food every week told him.

"Are we not giving out more food than there are residents of this city?" he asked.

All the ladies looked at each other; the idea of that being true had never occurred to them.

"I'm not sure," one of them suddenly answered, "but I think you might have a point." She looked around the room at the other ladies who also helped pass out food. They all nodded.

"Yet, we have no new members to our church," the minister concluded.

"Perhaps we should sponsor a dinner here," one of the ladies suggested. "They all want that food so why not make them come to church to get it?"

"Georgia's vegetable soup is the favorite," one of the taller ladies informed the group. "So, if that is decided then we need to make sure that soup is advertised on the menu."

The minister nodded. "We will make an announcement next week as you are passing out food."

"We could just add a note in the bag," another lady suggested.

"They just throw those away without looking at anything inside," a shorter lady corrected who had cropped brown hair and haze eyes. "So, we need to put up a big sign with the free food sign."

"That will do it!" everyone agreed.

The next week arrived and so did the sign. People seemed to come from everywhere and when they saw the sign some panicked.

"What no more free food?" One red haired lady whined. "I live for that vegetable soup." She turned and then turned back again. "What will I do?"

She turned again and then turned back again. "Can I have two more?" she asked, holding up two fingers. "Just in-case I don't make it to the church," she admitted.

"Just come to the church on Saturday afternoon, a blonde-haired lady tried to assure everyone. "There will be plenty of food there."

A short time later the police department arrived. Not to protect the ladies but to get food for the entire staff. The church folks were flabbergasted.

Time passed and folks came to the church every Saturday to listen to the Minister preach and to partake of the free food they all so enjoyed.

"If you're running short on money to make that food," one individual said. "I'd be happy to contribute to the fund."

Donations came into the church every Saturday after that; however, the donations were meant only for the free food.

Down the street and round the corner was the hospital. It wasn't a big hospital because the town was small; however, people were being put out in the hallway because the rooms were filling up with sick people.

"What has caused all of these people to be so sick?" A doctor wondered as he glanced over the paperwork concerning some of the patients who'd just been checked in.

"Everyone has a tummy ache, and no one will eat any food except." He flipped through the paperwork and then pointed to what he was reading. "Except the free food from the church down the block."

A nurse nodded, "Yes, and they all want the vegetable soup the most."

"What vegetable soup?"

"The same vegetable soup the entire police and fire department are consuming as we speak." She nodded. "They ordered it specially."

Both nurse and doctor just looked at each other and vanished down the hallway in different directions.

"Why won't you eat this soup?" a different nurse asked as the patient pushed it aside and refused to consume it.

"It's not the vegetable soup from the church," the patient answered.

The nurse nodded. She moved to the next bed. "You want the church food too, right?"

The patient answered, "yes."

"Did you refuse to go to the church to get the soup?" the nurse asked an idea was beginning to form in her head.

"I'm not a church person," the patient answered.

The nurse nodded and started down the hallway asking each patient the same question.

"Every patient we have here in the hospital is here because they want only the free food from the church," she nodded when the doctor gave her a warning smile. "hold on," she replied. "They refuse to go to the church to get the food because they say they are not church people."

"That's stupid," the doctor answered. "Go figure," the nurse answered and walked away.

Time kept passing as it always does and more and more people began to be admitted to hospitals nearby. Some got so sick it appeared that them might die. Some were fed with feeding tubes because they just plain refused to eat the food that was given to them.

As time passed the town had less and less people walking the streets and going to work, the old sports car appeared driving down the street the same as it always did. It turned onto the road leading to the free food spot. It stopped and after a few minutes started traveling again.

"You have done well, My pet..." a deep male voice said.

The car pulled up by the hospital and stopped.

"The time to collect souls is approaching."

Who would have guessed that a curse put on soup passed out by church members could cause so many people to become sick and those who were of truly bad character who refused to go to church to get the food would, in most cases, cause them to die from hunger.

"Only the evil-at-heart would refuse to go to the church to be saved with the soup," the voice told his pet,"and those individuals are the souls we want to collect today."

The door opened and a tall dark stranger emerged followed by his pet dog on her hands and knees. She smiled up at him as he spoke.

"Fetch!" he told her...