“I’m back,” he said to the coyote. “The headache is gone—what a relief!” “To me it seemed you never left,” the coyote said. “It happened in a twinkling. Hurry, use the red sand.” Nate unscrewed the other end of the hourglass. “I stashed a car nearby,” Nate reported. “Good thinking.” “Hope it’s still there. Off I go!” He poured the sand into his mouth, swooned, and soared. ***** Nate opened his eyes. He was lying on a couch in front of a television, head cushioned on a decorative pillow. On the TV a judge was dispensing advice to a woman with poofy red hair, who was nodding reluctantly. Nate sat up. His arms were pudgy and he had long nails. He could feel rolls of fat on his waist and chest. He was a woman! Hustling to the kitchen, he found a clock. Instead of numbers, it had the hours represented by different species of bird. According to the clock, it was about blue jay past goldfinch. Which meant 3:25. Daylight flooded in through the open blinds, throwing shadow stripes on the kitchen floor, so he knew it was afternoon. Nate noticed a set of keys on the counter.
