The words, "Pardon me, ma'am, can I talk to you about South Barkalow," rose and died on Lisa's lips. This Amazon did not want to be bothered, and how was Lisa even to broach the subject of obesity with her? Rather than speak to the woman, she dove out of her way, watching her loose dress flap around her beefy legs from behind. "Careful, Skinny," called the woman without turning her head. In a surprisingly short amount of time, she was out of sight.
Lisa had, in fact, never seen anyone so large before until she had boarded the bus that morning. The so-called "Obesity Epidemic" in America had run its course in the 20-teens--thanks in large part to the efforts of the FDA and CDC. People, everyone said, were healthier than ever, thanks to controlled diets and government-mandated exercise programs. South Barkalow, of course, was the big exception--and it seemed that as the rest of the country got thinner, this strange little town, along with a few others, had increased in girth. There was a kind of morbid fascination with South Barkalow because of this, though oddly enough, she had never seen any serious news agency do a piece on the town. The official line was that the government had cured obesity everywhere, despite silly, wild rumors of towns full of obese throwbacks.
Rumors that were, apparently, true. Yet it was difficult to interview obese people about their disease, she thought. How do you ask someone how they feel about being fat? And was it her, or did everyone in this town seem distinctly unfriendly, as if they disliked her on sight? Perhaps she could find someone who wasn't fat to interview first? She could have, she supposed, begin with City Hall...but the mayor and public officials would be sure to spin the story to make the town look as good as possible, and she wanted something real, something candid. She scanned the buildings that made up the downtown skyline...in addition to offices, there were a ton of restaurants. As she began to move toward these, it slowly registered that she had not heard of any one of them before. They had strange names like "IHOP," "Bob's Big Boy," "Cinnabon," "Country Cookin'" and "Dairy Queen." They all, strangely enough, looked like chain restaurants--but the more popular chains she'd grown up with--such as "Leafy Greens," or "Fit and Well" were nowhere to be seen. That could be a story as well, she thought. She continued to walk down the Main Street, which was empty of people, aside from the occasional businessman leaving work early and hefting his bulk into one of the cars that lined the street (she smiled, imagining them on their way to secret rendezvous with zaftig mistresses in seedy, big-bedded motels). The strangest thing about it was that when she did see someone, they never so much as made eye contact with her. She thought that, as the only thin person in a town, she would at least attract some stares. Not a bit of it. It was either as though her 24-inch waist made her instantly invisible--or else as though they'd been instructed not to look at her. Either theory was crazy, though. She turned the corner--and immediately laughed in astonishment.
What does Lisa see?
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