To Whom it may Concern,

 

 I am writing to you today as a warning:
Don't do business with Alchemy Designs
I know this seems random, but if you let me explain I hope to convince you why it's in your great interest to avoid this establishment.
I worked for Alchemy Designs from 2008 to 2010, and no this isn't a disgruntled employee complaint.
My boss was the Designer: Camilla Carpenter. She’s a strange little thing, dark hair fair skin, always wearing a Spider necklace. She has an incredible ability to make everyone she speaks to comfortable and relaxed. Most people would define her as “cute” or “sweet”
Do not allow yourself to fall for it, is a trap.
I'm getting ahead of myself, I apologize.
In the 2 years I was in her employ, I noticed a great deal of employee turnover. I know that might seem like a normal thing, and I understand. It's less the traffic that was disturbing, and more HOW people left.

They would just disappear. Let me explain
Ms. Carpenter would call an employee into  her office at the end of the day, seemingly at random, right as they were about to leave to go home.
And then the next day their desk would be cleared.
I know that sounds normal, like she didn't want them to be embarrassed so she waited until the last minute.
But consider this:
wouldn't someone that you've worked with, had lunch with after dinner drinks with, don't you think they would reach out?
Let you know that they'd been let go?
That they wouldn't see you around the office anymore?

It’s completely normal behavior to reach out to a friend and colleague after termination, is it not?
For 6 months I was working with Chris Heins.

6 months I was eating lunch, having drinks, and going to ball games with him. We were friends. I would even go so far as to call us best friends.
Then one day Ms. Carpenter calls him into her office.
I remember it like it was yesterday: we were gathering up our things, it was Friday and we were going to head out to the lake for the weekend.

Then Ms. Carpenter, she slinked out of her office with her tight black dress and thick framed glasses, smiled that saccharin sweet smile between blood red lips and said

“Chris, I don’t mean to bother, but I’d like to see you in my office before you leave for the day. It will only be a minute” What I haven’t told you is that, Chris had a bit of a crush on our boss. And by crush I mean full on high school infatuation. So when she came out of her office and smiled at him, I knew that there was no question. He smirked at me and said

“Don’t wait up” before practically prancing after her.

That was the last time I heard Chris speak.
I went to the lake as planned. When he didn’t show, I called is cellphone, it went directly to voicemail.

On Monday when I came into work, his desk had been cleared out. I asked her, Ms. Carpenter. I asked her

“Where is Chris?” She was sitting at her desk typing, she looked up at me with those piercing green eyes and simply said

“Oh, I sent him on a business trip! He should be back in about a week” she smiled so big it left me uneasy.
So I waited a week. I tried to stay calm. I went to the gym like normal every morning.
I went in to work every day like normal, waiting to hear from Chris.

He didn’t come back to work the following week. And when I asked Ms. Carpenter about when he was coming back, again She replied:

“He decided to take a job on the West Coast! Oh, I was sure he would have told you? I’m so sorry about your friend” her voice had been sincere, but her facial expressions could only be described as, delighted.

I gave him another call. He would have told me if he was moving to the West Coast. He would have hounded me about helping him move.
Except, except this time his number had been disconnected.
So I went to his apartment, but, it wasn’t his apartment anymore. There was a “For Rent” sign on the lawn. And when I tried to go to his door to knock, there was a Realtor's lock box on the doorknob.
But here’s the strangest part, his furniture was being sold at a yard-sale across the street! I know that sounds crazy, but I recognized his old chartreuse couch. He got it from his uncle when he passed away, NOBODY has a couch like that.
I know this all sounds like a series of unfortunate events
Just a string of strange coincidences.
But I SAW her. I mean I really SAW her, for what she REALLY is
Ms. Carpenter
About a month after Chris disappeared, I was working late at the office. Admittedly, I wasn't getting much sleep. Chris's disappearance had really gotten to me. Like I said, we were best friends.
Aside from the night custodian, I was the only one in the office. Or, I should have been. I THOUGHT I was.

Anyway
I needed to make a copy, so I walked down the hall passed the cubicles, towards Ms. Carpenter's office towards the copier.
I wasn't attempting to be nosy, I wasn't trying to intrude, it's just that her office window is right in front of the copier
When I looked up
When I looked up I saw her
She was sitting on top of her desk in the dark, legs crossed with her hands on her knees
Only
Her legs were long
Ms Carpenter is only 5"4 even in heels
But her legs, her knees reached each side of the 6 ft long desk
Her fingers were long, like spindles coming to a sharp point. I had blinked a few times thinking that maybe I was tired
Maybe I had just been Working too hard
But there she was
She uncrossed her legs, stretching then out in front of her to at least 8 feet long. She reached her arms up and stretched, that's when I noticed the gray color of her skin. I felt like I was looking at some sort of Specter. And her eyes, oh god her eyes. They had...they had GROWN. She had normal green eyes that morning, but now they were the size of teacup saucers. With blood shot red filling up where the eye is normally white.

I threw up immediately all over the copier. I couldn’t help myself, she was terrifying.

But then, then she spoke to me.

“Adam” Her voice sounded like many voices. It echoed through my mind, and I could feel the bumps raise up all over my body.

“Adam, can I see you in here a moment”
I ran, I didn't stop until I got home. I haven't been back since. If I had stayed I might have ended up like Chris. Whatever might have happened to Chris, it’s not going to happen to me.
And it will absolutely happen to you if your company buys out Alchemy Designs. I'm convinced that she's a cannibal, or something to that affect, if she's even human. If you attempt to meet with her, she's going to make you disappear. For the safety of yourself, your family and your employees
please consider revoking your contract

Sincerely,
Adam Reese

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Ali

There wasn’t a shred of doubt, Alison was dead.

Kait sat on the floor of her darkened apartment, staring at her phone. The words “no new messages” were all that she could see. Yes, Alison was definitely dead. It had been 10 days since the last time they spoke, where Kait told her that she wasn’t sure about that boyfriend of hers.

Alison had laughed.

“Where’s this coming from? It’s been like…..a year? And all of a sudden you ‘aren’t sure’ about him? I mean what is that?”

“ALI Listen to me!”Kait wrung her hands together, as though she was rearranging her skin "Ali, he's always around. We used to, we used to do things together just you and me."
Alison crinkled her eyebrows
"Oh my God, Kit Kat! You're jealous" she let out a cackle that was half forced. "Kit Kat, we can always find someone for you." She turned her back and started rummaging through her cupboards "He'll be home soon, should we have tequila or vodka? Or both!"
    "Ali, listen to me!" Kait leaned forward, Alison talked over her
     "Jeremy likes Vodka. But I like tequila. Maybe you're right we're not meant for each other." Kait bit down on her bottom lip hard, lurched forward throwing her arms around Alison
     "Ali please! This isn't how it's supposed to be!" Alison turned around slowly, and wiggled herself out of Kait's grasp
     "Maybe you should go home" Alison's voice had gone from playful and musical, to monotone. "Kaitlyn, Please leave. I am sick of this possessive bullshit. Everyday, it's all the fucking time. And I'm just done. I'm done! So what I have a boyfriend? Just fuck off and get out of my apartment" Alison turned away from Kait and stormed towards her bedroom door, “WHEN I COME BACK OUT YOU BETTER BE GONE”

That was a week and 3 days ago. Usually they would make up by now. Usually she could see Ali on social media. She would have at least posted a playlist of songs about being pissed or being too clingy. But there was nothing. Kait clicked on the Snapchat app, Alison’s name was right at the top. She checked, again. Alison still hadn’t viewed her Snap from today, or yesterday, or the day before. Something was definitely wrong. Alison was most definitely dead. Kait jumped to her feet. She was going to find that bastard that killed her Ali cat.

Contacting Jeremy wasn’t hard. All She had to do was send him a text message saying:

“Hey, haven’t heard from u guys in a few days. Everything ok?”

He’d responded with a chipper sounding

“oh yea! No worries we’ve both just been working A LOT lol”

She stared down at the text message response and felt her whole body fill with a tingle. He was hiding something. He was most definitely hiding something.

“OMG lol I totally get it!”

She’d responded, careful not to let him know that she was on to him.

“I wanted 2 kno if maybe I could stop by 2nite? I kno it’s last min but Ali and I had a fight last week and I wanted to sort shit out”

Send.

Kait waited, staring intently at her phone as she walked down the sidewalk. This was crucial, he didn’t know that she knew. Or maybe he’d had an idea? His response would say it all. After about three minutes, heard the “ding”

“I mean….yea if you want? Idk what time Ali’s coming home. I mean, she’s wrking a dbl shift at Phib’s so I’m guessing she’ll be out by midnite?”

Kait knew what this meant. She knew what he was doing. He was hoping that midnight would be too late. That she’d be sleeping and not be able to come by. Oh he knew. He KNEW.

“Omg that’s totally fine. I’ll be there soon K?”

Kait had already reached their apartment. It was a really nice place in the center of the city, across the street from the local market. She looked up into the row of windows that lead into Ali and Jeremy’s apartment. They’d been living together for 3 months, but they’d been an item for about a year. Everything had changed when Ali met Jeremy.

They used to be attached at the hip, Kait and Ali. Ever since 9^th grade they’d done everything together, went to the same college, until Kait dropped out. They both worked at Phib’s until Kait got fired for showing up late one too many times. They even lived together for a few years….until Jeremy.

Jeremy was ALWAYS at the apartment. Kait wrinkled her nose thinking about how this used to be her home too. Everything she’d known, everyone she’d loved……

Kait took long strides up to the front door, she rubbed her nose hard and opened the door to the building. The last thing she wanted was him to see she’d been crying. She took the stairs 2 at a time, clonking her big combat boots loudly. She heard her phone “Ding”, but she ignored it. Gaining her composure, Kait approached the apartment at the very top of the stairs, and knocked. Jeremy answered the door almost immediately. His sandy brown hair fell gently around his broad shoulders. His eyes were deceptively kind.

“Hey Kait! Wow….that…..that was fast come on in” He turned and walked towards the couch. Kait walked in and let her coat slide down her arms and onto the floor, she kicked the door closed behind her.

“Hello Jeremy” she spoke in a tone that she’d heard many times in movies, deeply and with an air of evil villain. Jeremy slouched down on the couch. Kait noticed he was wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t realize that you were settling in for the night” Kait decided to keep the voice, it matched perfectly with what was about to happen.

“Oh God, no don’t worry about it Kait. It was my day off and I’ve just been…..are you ok?” She stood up erect. Allowing her voice to dip

“I’m fine, why” Jeremy looked her up and down, his eyes narrowed

“You just….you seem tense. You can sit down. It’s ok I mean, we’re good” Kait furrowed her brow, and summoned the villain voice

“We’re….good? Oh Jeremy, whatever do you mean?” Jeremy reached out in front of him and picked up a brown bottle

“Ali told me about how you were uncomfortable about us living together. And I get it, I do. I understand why you would feel that way. But I want you to know, I didn’t suggest you moving out. That was Ali’s idea. We’d talked about it for awhile and she thought-”

“Thought it was important that I start fending for myself, I know. She told me. But you see, my problem is…” Kait started to saunter over towards the couch.

“….she never would have come to that conclusion without you, Jeremy” He took a long swig out of the brown bottle.

“I’m really sorry you feel that way, Kait. But I can assure you-”

“Where is she Jeremy?” Kait allowed her voice to drop even deeper, almost demonic.

“I….told you. She’s at Phib’s. She’ll be home in a few hours” Kait looked into his eyes, his big hazel eyes that she’d had to hear about for weeks and weeks after he and Ali began seeing one another.

“I don’t think she is Jeremy. I think……” Kait began to walk to the other side of the couch, looking at her feet to create tension.

“…...I think that she isn’t anywhere” Jeremy put his bottle down and leaned in towards Kait as she sat down.

“Kait, I’m not trying to be a dick. So please don’t get upset, I just need to know. Are you using again?” Kait leaned back resting her spine against the arm of the couch

“What kind of a question is that, hmm? Why are you trying to avoid the conversation?” Jeremy pulled his right leg inward in a half pretzel style sitting arrangement

“Ali mentioned that you’d been….”

“ALI! EXACTLY. AND WHAT ELSE ABOUT ALI? HMMMM? DID SHE TELL YOU THAT BEFORE YOU CAME ALONG WE WERE GOING TO BE TOGETHER? DID SHE? DID SHE TELL YOU THAT FOR THE LAST 6 MONTHS BEFORE YOU TWO MET WE’D BEEN SHARING A BED? DID SHE TELL YOU THAT?” Kait’s whole body began to shake. She wasn’t planning on lashing out like this, this wasn’t a part of the plan.

“She said that you’d been going through something for awhile and she didn’t want to be your crutch anymore. She said that she needed….” Kait jumped to her feet, the sound of her boots stomping the wood floor gave her a rush of joy.

“I KNOW WHAT YOU DID JEREMY. I KNOW. I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE AND I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE PLANNING TO DO TO ME. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID. I KNOW!” Kait lunged toward him wrapping her long bony fingers around his throat.

“KAIT” his voice was strained as he attempted to get her off of him. He swung the bottle at her head, but it only cracked and hit the floor. His arms flailed about in confusion.

“YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! EVERYTHING! I HAVE NOBODY, NOTHING! IT WAS ONLY ALISON! AND THEN YOU KILL HER! YOU FUCKING KILLED HER YOU FUCKING SHIT STAIN OF A MAN” Kait watched as his veins raised in his face, desperately trying to pump blood through his body. She wasn’t going to let it. She wasn’t going to allow him to live when all he did was take and take.

“Kait….pl….” His voice began to sound far away. Kait watched as his eyes rolled back into his head, and his purple face beat with the trapped blood. She loosened her fingers just a bit, and leaned in towards his mouth, and listened.

Nothing.

Not a breath, not a gurgle, not even the sound of his heart. Kait pressed her chest against his, and waited. When she felt nothing, she pressed her lips against his. He was warm, his lips tasted like cheap beer and cigarettes, but they sat lifeless beneath her own.

“I just wanted to see what the fuss was about” She whispered as she pulled away.

Kait’s phone started buzzing. She rolled her eyes and picked it up without looking to see who it was.

“Hello?”

“Kait? It’s Ali. I’m sorry it took me so long….I just needed some space. Jeremy said that you were coming over, so I’m assuming you’re there? I’ll be up in a minute I got off early.”

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

 

Crossword

I have no real answers for you about what happened. I wish I did. All I really have is my diaries, and the knowledge that it did, in fact, happen. I remember very clearly, sitting in my living room drinking coffee. Or tea? No, no it must have been coffee. It doesn’t matter, I had a hot beverage and I was doing the crossword puzzle. It must have been Sunday if I was doing the crossword puzzle. Yes, Sunday. So I was drinking my coffee and doing my crossword puzzle, when I got a telephone call from my friend. Well, she wasn’t my friend. We knew each other from church, we were in the same Women’s group together. Anyway, she called to tell me that she was going out of town for a few days, and would I check in with her husband to make sure everything was alright. I remember telling her that I would be happy to, I didn’t even question why she would be asking ME. I gathered my crossword and my purse, I said goodbye to my cat, Glory. When I got there, her husband was mowing the lawn. Oh my goodness was he an attractive man. He had those big burly shoulders and a strong chiseled jaw. I know that it’s a sin to covet your neighbors house or husband, but I just couldn’t help myself. I walked right up to him, I’ve never been so bold. I told him that his wife had asked me to check on him while she was away, and oh my goodness he smiled and I just, I melted! He was just the dreamiest man I had ever seen. I admit I’d seen him in church a few times and allowed myself to leer. I had never REALLY had any sort of feelings like this for a man before. I maybe had a little crush on my teacher when I was a girl, but besides that. Oh he just made me feel….like a school girl! Anyway, That first day all we did was chat. We ate some lunch and, he told me all about how he and his wife were trying to have a baby. I don’t know why I told him, but I blurted out that I’d had a hysterectomy a few years prior. I remember that instead of being uncomfortable, he seemed almost delighted. He apologized to me that I’d never be able to bare children, but his eyes suggested that he was glad.

Anyways, I left that first day feeling more alive than I’d ever felt before! I knew it was wrong. I did. But, you see I couldn’t help myself! He was everything I could have ever wanted in a man. Oh I was always a God fearing woman, but that night, that night I could have sworn I felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I could have sworn the Lord was telling me that this man was my destiny. I was so excited to go back the next day. And the day after, and the day after that. Nothing happened at first. We just, chatted and did yard work together. I completely forgot as time went on that he was married. His wife had been gone for two weeks when it happened the first time.

I know that I shouldn’t tell you this. I mean, it’s not very Christian of me. I know that it’s not lady like to talk about things that should remain private between a man and a woman. But, all he did was push my hair behind my ear and, I couldn’t help myself! I kissed him! Oh and I should have felt so guilty but I didn’t. I felt so safe when he wrapped his big arms around me. I let him have me. I want to tell you that I hadn’t considered that we were committing one of the seven deadly sins, but I had. And to tell you the truth, I didn’t care! Oh he took me right there in the living room on that horrid green couch. Oh it was, indescribable! I had never been with anyone before. He was like an animal! He ripped my sweater off of me, he pawed at me and I loved every moment, when he was….well. I shouldn’t say. But I knew in that moment that he’d known what I’d known all along. WE were meant to be together. Not him and that dreadful woman.

Forgive me, she wasn’t dreadful. She was lovely. You should never speak ill of….Oh, I hadn’t mentioned that part yet. Well, after a few weeks together, I asked about his wife. I asked if he was going to leave her so that we could be together. I felt it was only right that he leave her and marry me. He couldn’t keep living this way, loving me and letting that woman think that there was something to come home to. He seemed resistant at first. I understood, he’d been with her for so long. It would be wrong to say that, we got lucky, but that’s just what happened! He noticed that she hadn’t called in awhile. She originally called once a day, then once a week, then it stopped altogether. He called her mother, he figured that he would be able to get a hold of her that way, but her mother had the most awful news.

While out to lunch with an old friend, she was struck by a vehicle. Poor Emmalina. OH! That was her name, Emmalina. He was sad at first, But I convinced him that everything happens for a reason.

I know, I know that you want me to skip to the part in question. I know, but you see, I need you to understand everything first. I need to explain why I was in the house in the first place.

I didn’t tell the church that I was living in sin with him. I was afraid that they wouldn’t understand. I sold my little house and me and my cat moved in with Gregory. The first year was absolute bliss. Oh, he would….well I suppose that’s not important.

We ran into problems about five years ago. We’d been together about ten years by then, and he started to change. He started calling me Emmie. Not all the time, just every now and then. Like it was a mistake, a slip of the tongue. I assumed it was because of stress. He’d recently lost his job at the Post office after all. But, When he started calling me Emmie, and not realizing his mistake, is when I got concerned. I took him to the Doctor, who said he was experiencing Early Onset Alzheimers. That the only thing to do was to just let it slide when he called me Emmie.

Well, he started saying….things. TERRIBLE things. Talking about how he never wanted children. How he hated me (of course thinking I’m Emmalina) for making him change everything about himself. I felt so awful for him. I didn’t know how to make him understand that she was gone, that horrible woman was gone for good, and that I was here now, that I’d make it all okay. Soon after that came the…...came…...I can’t even bring myself to say it. He stopped being my loving wonderful Greg, and started being very rough. Love making turned into a dangerous game. I know what you’re going to say, that I should have stopped being intimate with him. But, I couldn’t help myself. He was my Greg!

The night of “The Incident” he’d been sitting in the living room drinking one of those non alcoholic beers he loved so much. I was never sure why he loved the non alcoholic, but I bought them because he wanted them.

He had been pretty far gone by now. He’d stopped calling me by my name altogether. I had left the house for a short time just to get some dinner for the two of us. I ran into my friend Josie at the supermarket and she told me that she heard about…..

I’m sorry, you don’t care about church gossip.

When I came back…..when I …….when I came back he was in the cellar. I was never to go into the Cellar, that was his private place. He hadn’t been down there since he’d been diagnosed. I assumed that because he was not well I could go down there and help him. Maybe he was confused.

I….went down into the cellar and …..he’d….I’m sorry I need a moment.

He had covered an entire wall of photographs of Emmalina. It was almost like a shrine! He had things she’d left behind lined up along the floor and candles all around that had clearly been lit many times. I didn’t know what to do. I….I screamed. I couldn’t believe it! All these years he’d been with me, and had been pining for HER! That...THAT WOMAN! Well I startled him and we turned and ran towards the steps. He knocked me down off of the stairs and I hit my head on the way down. I suppose I was knocked out for a few hours. When I woke up I could hear the tv upstairs blasting. I regained my composure and made my way into the kitchen. I just couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that he’d done this to me. After all these years. After all this time. He was always pining for her. SHE WAS DEAD! And he still longed for her. She couldn’t make him happy the way I could. I knew that. Imagine the only person YOU’VE ever loved being in love with someone else! Doesn’t feel so great now does it??

He came into the room and saw me sitting there. He called me Emmie, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to be sensitive to his condition. Not anymore. Not after what I’d seen. So I asked him how he could do this to us. And he….he attacked me. He attempted to take me by force. I say attempted because before he could finish the deed he became…..he became lucid. Probably for the first time in a year. He saw me and knew that I wasn’t her, he climbed off of me and….and went to get a beer! HA! I was even about to tell him who I was but it lasted less than five minutes.

I wanted to leave him that night you know. I wanted to abandon him and his cheating heart. You know, the Bible says that if you cheat in the mind you’ve already cheated in your heart. And that’s what he’d done to me. He’d cheated on me with a memory of a vile woman. A VILE woman. I had heard a rumor around church once when she was still alive that she was having all those miscarriages on purpose. It’s not my place to judge but she was so awful that I wouldn’t put it past her.

Needless to say I didn’t leave then. I didn’t leave him. I stayed for another six months while I got some affairs in order. I sold his house. I got him into a really nice assisted living home.

I know that this all sounds long winded. I know. I know that’s not what you asked for. I understand that you want to know what happened to the girl. I know, but you have to understand what happened before all that. Before I went to New York.

You see, now come in real close because this part is important, Emmalina wasn’t dead at all.

I KNOW! I was just as shocked when I discovered it! You see, I went to New York to visit my friend Eloise. And when I got there, OH you wouldn’t believe. Eloise’s daughter, Chloe who was about 22, she had a friend named Elisia, and ELISIA’S MOTHER Oh my goodness.

Now, Elisia’s mother’s name is Abigail, but I swear to the Lord in heaven it was Emmalina.

She wasn’t there, of course. We visited Chloe’s apartment and her friend Elisia had pictures of herself and her mother all over. Elisia lived there too.

WELL I swear. It was like looking into a crystal ball that woman was alive, I’m telling you SHE IS ALIVE

I’m telling you.

I know what you’re going to say. I know that you’re going to tell me that’s no excuse for what I did.

But I’m telling you, it was her. I’m telling you, I KNEW that woman was alive. And if she’s alive I have some things to say to her.

So yes

I snuck into Chloe’s apartment.

And yes, I went threw that girls things trying to find answers. But let me tell you, that woman. She deserves everything coming to her.

I KNOW that girl is a love child. I bet that’s why she left. I bet that she was having an affair on my poor Greggy and that’s why she left. Because she was pregnant with another man’s baby. I was going to prove it. And do you know what? I was going to take that little girl. I was going to steal her. Yes I was. That was the plan to steal that little…

I

I can’t….

Doctor? I’m very tired now. I’m exhausted. Can we talk to the police tomorrow? I don’t want to talk about it today.

How about tomorrow?

Tomorrow. Can you call my mother, Doctor? Ask her if she’s going to come and visit soon.

Doctor I didn’t mean to hurt Eloise’s girl. I only meant to take Elisia. But she wasn’t there Doctor. She was…away.

Doctor, I’m tired.

Can we talk to the police tomorrow?

Doctor?

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

AEO (Paul)

Since the beginning of time, there have been people who claim to be in touch with the other side. Those who say that they have the remarkable ability to speak to the dead, to send messages back from beyond the grave. Unfortunately, many of these people are nothing but Con artists.

Paul was one of these people. It had started small, pulling tricks with slight of hand in high school and then again in college to create a crowd. But, then people started offering him money for his services. Paul, who grew up without a want for anything, liked the idea of a little pocket change. So, he continued on, taking the money of poor trusting grieving people. It wasn’t just a way to get cash, he became irresistible to women as well. Girls would fawn over him asking for him to tell their future, what kind of man they were supposed to marry, and what their dead friend from high school had to say about the boy they fought over Junior year. They ate it up.

All except, one girl. Paul had met her in an intro to Paranormal psychology course. He’d taken it just for fun, and again, to validate his long con. She wasn’t particularly beautiful, nothing about her physical appearance really stood her out from a crowd. But, she had something. Something about her made Paul feel, alive. She stood up in class to talk about her Grandmother’s passing. She’d claimed that her mother would see her Grandmother walking down the hall at night in her family home in Cork. There was nothing extraordinary about her story, except for the location. From the moment her lips parted and she began to speak, Paul knew: Agatha O’Donnell was his future.

They dated for 6 months. He’d really turned on the 100 watt smile for this one girl, but when she smiled back, he was putty in her hands. He never told her about his long Con. As far as she knew, he was just a guy born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Nothing more, nothing less.

When Paul finally got the nerve to propose, it was the 6 month mark to the day. He brought her to the place they’d gone on their very first date, a pond outside town. It was quiet and beautiful. Surrounded by trees with tiny pink flowers. Paul was armed with a picnic basket and his Great Grandmother’s engagement ring.

Agatha sat on the picnic blanket he’d laid out for them.

“What is all this?” She smiled and pushed one of her strawberry curls behind her ear.

“You’ll see” He said. Paul took some sparkling cider out of the basket, and poured them each a glass, crystal of course. He held it up high, and said, in an over confident tone

“Agatha Elizabeth O’Donnell, from the moment I saw you I knew you were different” Lie “I knew that you were more special than any other woman I’d ever met before” Slightly less of a lie “I knew that this day would come, and we’d be happy forever. Aggie, my darling, would you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Gartner?” Paul smiled proudly, opening up the ostentatious ring box with his free hand.

Aggie’s face changed. She went from smiling to a slow look of disappointment.

“I thought you just wanted to have lunch” Paul slouched down into himself

“What?”

“Paul…..Paul your family has certain...expectations.” She put her glass down on the blanket delicately.

“Expe-Expectations?”

“I want to be a Teacher. I don’t want to stay home all day with children being a socialite.” Paul felt all his blood rush to his face

“No, instead you’d rather spend all day at work with children.” Paul jumped to his feet and began to walk away, before abruptly turning around

“This is a good thing, Aggie. We can be really happy together.” Aggie let out a deep sigh, she looked out towards the pond.

“Oh Paul. I just, want an ordinary life. I want to be a Teacher. Live in a small house, maybe someday have children. The life of a socialite is not for me.”

“Well if, if you never wanted to marry me, what did you think we were doing?? I mean, I LOVE you Aggie! What did you think was going to happen?” Aggie looked down at her hands.

“I thought we were just...I mean it’s college”

Paul felt his blood boil. He had never been rejected like this before. He’d actually never been rejected before.

“You thought we were just having fun.” Paul looked into her soft brown eyes, and saw something he’d never seen before. Pity.

“Oh Paul. I can’t I just….”

“I can see the dead” He blurted it out as though it was an insult. As if the word “dead” was just another variation of the “c” word.

Aggie’s brow furrowed, then her eyes widened.

“YOU can...I’m sorry what?”

“I’m so sorry I never told you. I was afraid that you would be scared off.” Paul jumped up to his feet, as though balance would help the lie.

“That’s why I was in that class” He took a few steps toward her “That day that I approached you Aggie, it was because, your Grandmother, she came to me. She TOLD me that we were meant to be. You have to marry me Aggie. The Heavens ordained it”

“EXCUSE ME?” Aggie jumped to her feet. “You ask me to marry you, and then when I say no, you have the AUDACITY to use a very painful family death to CONVINCE ME TO- Like I’m some sort of….. I- Paul, I have to go” She picked up her sandals and turned to walk away.

“NO” Paul leapt over the picnic spread and grasped her forearm firmly in his hand

“I don’t think you understand Aggie. We should be together. I know it. I can feel it”

“Paul, let go of me” She spoke softly, with a quiver that implied she was unsure of his intentions

“NOT until you say that you’ll marry me! NOT until you agree. NO ONE SAYS NO TO ME AGGIE. DON’T YOU GET THAT??”

“LET GO OF ME!” Suddenly she began to flail. Her whole body went into deep convulsions. Her arms waved about like a ragdoll, her voice reached unearthly octaves. She began screaming with a pitch he’d never heard before.

“SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP ME!”

Startled by her outburst, Paul let go of her arm. As he did, Aggie continued to flail, causing her body to crash to the ground. Her back hit the fenced in stones around the pond. Paul heard a loud CRACK, and watched as her body back-flipped into the pond. The last thing he saw was her eyes wide, her mouth agape and stunned.

Paul waited, watching for her to come back to the surface. For what felt like an eternity, Paul watched as the water went from a harsh ripple to an eerie stillness. He let out a sigh of relief, he had narrowly escaped rejection. Paul turned and walked back toward the car, as he reached for his keys….

“OH HOLY SHIT” the sudden wash of realization came over him. He turned back, going into a straight sprint towards the pond. His legs outstretched he felt his blood pumping through his veins. What had he done? Without thinking he jumped over the stone fencing and into the pond. Paul let his hands trace over the bottom of the pond until he felt what must have been hair. He pulled hard until her head came out of the water.

“AGGIE” he screamed forcing her body over the side of the pond

“SOMEBODY GET HELP! ANYBODY, HELP!” he frantically began chest compression's.

One, two, three check the mouth for obstructions. One two three listen for breathing.

“Please Aggie. Please. You can’t do this to me. You can’t die. Please Aggie” One two three, check for breathing. One two three make sure to clear the airway. One two three….

Paul saw a pair of shoes approach the other side of Agatha’s body. “Thank God! Call an ambulance! CALL THE POLICE! CALL ANYONE!” He continued compression's, the feet didn’t move. “What’s wrong with you?? CALL SOMEONE!” The shoes stood stoic. The being attached to them remaining silent. “What’s wrong with you??” This time, Paul looked up to see

Aggie.

Her hair was wet. Her left eye was blown out, protruding from the socket. Her body was twisted in such a way”…...” Paul looked down at the body on the ground, had he pulled up the wrong body?

He stared into the face of his would be fiance, lifeless on the ground. Then up at the face of his would be fiance, standing before him. Seemingly alive.

“Aggie?” Animated Aggie didn’t speak. She just tilted her head from side to side. One eye blinking back at him. Paul stood to his feet “Aggie” She opened her mouth to speak, but instead came a bubbling sound, like boiling water. Red bubbles began to form around her lips. Paul lifted his hand to touch her, but stopped himself.

“Oh God” He looked back down at Aggie on the ground. “Oh my….Oh my God” he backed up away from the pond “Oh” He turned and ran, full speed back towards his car. “This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.” He thought to himself as his whole body became engulfed with cold sweat. Paul fumbled for his keys, terrified to look over his shoulder….

Paul woke up in his dorm. He didn’t remember starting the car, or even driving to get there.

“Oh Jesus” he let out a sigh as he rubbed his hand over his face. “It must have been a dream.”

“Yo, dude. You get the ‘yes’?” Paul sat up to see his roommate standing in his socks and boxers with a guitar.

“No, but I will” Paul rolled out of bed. He must have gotten drunk last night, imagined the whole thing.

“Well man, let me know when you do” Paul looked out the window while pulling a fresh shirt over his head

in the center of the quad he saw something

“I mean, you came home last night in a craze man! I assumed that you either got the yes, or I don’t know….” His roommate’s voice seemed so far away

Paul leaned towards the window to get a closer look. He recognized the damp strawberry hair, the torso that arched as if the spine had been dissevered, the left eye protruding from the socket. Aggie’s body stood motionless in the quad, looking directly into is window.

“You know?” Paul rubbed his eyes

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Paul didn’t take his eyes off of her.

“I SAID, you kept saying ‘this can’t be happening this can’t be happening’ I just figured that she’d said yes and you realized the realness of it all. Ya know?” Suddenly, Aggie began to move towards the dormitory, slowly. So slowly he almost didn’t notice, her legs struggled with each step, as if her bones were fused together.

“I-I think I’m going to go home for the weekend. Get some...some air…” Paul turned from the window and reached under his bed for his suitcase.

“Yea dude, whatever you need to do. Maybe that’s what Aggs did.” Paul stopped and turned his head to look into his roommates eyes.

“What?”

“Yea! Nobody has seen her since yesterday man! I asked Sorra if she’d seen her after you got back, I wanted to know what was going on. But Sor said that she never came back to the apartment. I guess you both had the same idea”

“Jay, man, can you….take a look at this shit” Paul pointed out the window as Jay walked towards him, still holding his guitar.

“What man? The Drama club doing that flash Improv shit again?” Paul let his mouth fall open as he watched Aggie haphazardly make her way towards the dorm. “What am I looking at man?”

Paul took a deep breath.

“Nothing….nothing, man”

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Water

Sam stood on the deck of his Houseboat, tumbler of gin in hand. He looked out over the Chesapeake Bay, and thought about how peaceful his life had become. Everything was finally falling into place, he’d retired from the hospital in Buffalo NY, had bought this boat and was now living his dream of just, floating. He ran his fingers through his thick salt and pepper hair and took another sip.

“Harry?” Sam raised his eyebrows and turned to the silky voice coming from behind him.

“Good morning Darlin’” She stood in the doorway with his blue button up shirt, barely covering her chest. She was young, and trying entirely too hard.

“Harry, when I looked out the window I didn’t see my car. I parked my car right off shore before I came on board last night.” Sam smiled a crooked smile.

“That’s because you parked your car in Pennsylvania, Darlin’.” She looked confused. The young ones always needed help getting there. “We’re currently in Maryland.” He took a sip of his drink and used it to gesture towards dry land. “See that? I’d say that looks like Fells Point. That would mean we’re approaching Baltimore” This was his favorite part. He got to watch as her eyes made the connection. First she furrowed her brow in confusion, then her eyes began to widen.

“WHAT?” she ripped off his shirt exposing her bare chest and the cheap pink thong underneath “I TOLD YOU AT THE BAR LAST NIGHT HARRY! I TOLD YOU THAT I HAD TO WORK THIS MORNING!” She bent over and started picking up the articles of clothing strewn about the observation deck.

“I’m sure the good people of Lancaster Pennsylvania will be able to find someone else to serve them overpriced gin”

“Harry, how could you do this? Are you…” She lifted up the black cocktail dress she had picked up, and covered herself as she spoke “Are you going to sell me?”

Sam let out a deep laugh. He had heard that one before, it was completely unoriginal but it always tickled him.

“No Darlin’, I’m not gonna sell you.” He turned his back on her. They never retaliated, they were always too stunned and embarrassed. Her face turned three shades of red, and then she stomped towards the opposite end of the boat.

Sam turned back towards the river. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

“Time for breakfast” He said to no one. He turned and walked back to the cabin. “Maybe some Eggs benedict. That’ll hit the spot.” He opened up his portable fridge and pulled out a beer. “Then again, this is all I need” Sam took a long slow drink of his beverage. He savored the bitterness, and thought about absolutely nothing. He felt like a quiet mind was a healthy mind.

The silence was broken by the sound of the water splashing outside. Had that stupid girl jumped? He rushed through the cabin to the other side of the boat, he was not going to be responsible for her drowning.

There she stood, surrounded by water, dressed in a long tattered turquoise gown. Her hair was soaked, and clung to her face and shoulders as if they were afraid to lose her. Her lips were a cool blue, and her skin was so pale Sam thought he could see her blood coursing through her veins. But her face, it wasn’t the face of the girl he’d spent the night with.

“SARAH” He screamed as he burst through the cabin’s back door, reaching his hand out in front of him to grasp her. As soon as she was close enough to touch, she slid off of the edge of the boat and into the water. Sam threw his body into the bough of the boat and screamed “SARAH! SARAH, COME BACK! SARAH!” His eyes filled with hot tears. He reached his hand into the water and brought only his hand back again. “Sarah” he whispered. He closed his eyes and scooped the water up in his cupped hand, bringing it to his face.

“Maybe I can smell her.”

But all he could smell was water. His heart ached.

“Who’s Sarah?” Sam whipped his head around to see his conquest standing just inside the doorway leading into the cabin.

“She’s….she’s my wife” Her eyes lit up with deviant joy

“I didn’t know you had a WIFE Harry! How does SHE feel about you dragging young unsuspecting women out to sea?” Her tone was overly condescending.

“She wouldn’t think much of it at all…..eh..umm” She rolled her eyes

“Jen! My name is Jen”

“Right, Jen. She wouldn’t think much of it, she doesn’t think much of me. And this is the Bay. Not the Sea” He stood to his feet letting the water drip all over his bathrobe. Jen rolled her eyes at him like a rebellious teenager.

“What does THAT mean?”

“Well a Bay is-”

“NO not that you asshole, what do you mean she doesn’t think much of you”

“It means, it...it doesn’t matter what it means” he slid down to the floor. “I haven’t seen her in years. She ran off with my….well. Let’s just say she left me.”

Sam rubbed his hand on his face, pressing the heel of his hand into his eyes. Jen walked over and knelt down beside him.

“Poor thing” Her voice was soft, and caring now. Sam looked into her face, and was suddenly filled with an uncontrollable rage.

“We’re going to shore, and when we do, I want you gone. GONE, YOU HEAR ME?” Jen sat back, mouth agape. He stood to his feet and rushed into the door of the cabin, furiously plotting in his next move.

Sam didn’t go to the local bars that day, instead he went out looking for fishing equipment. He knew he needed a net. Sure it sounded cruel, but it was the only way he could think to keep Sarah from escaping back into the water. She’d be back, he knew it. And when she came back, he’d be ready. He fashioned a trap, laying the entire net onto the deck of the boat. He bought house plants to create an illusion. As he began arranging his trap, he stopped

“What am I doing?” He looked all around at the net, the fake house plants. He fell back onto the deck and closed his eyes. “I was over her” he rubbed his hand over his face, sweeping the sweat from his brow to his lips. “I’m just….what the fuck did that TV therapist say?” he squinted hard “I’m just manifesting an illusion based on trauma.” Sam sat up again and looked around. The net was a sad reminder of what he was, an old man living out a teenage desire. He’d convinced himself that this boat was a dream, but it had been a way to escape everything that had happened. He rose to his feet “I’ll clean it up in the morning” He went into the cabin to rest.

Collapsing onto his cot in ‘captain’s quarters’ Sam closed his eyes and thought about Sarah. He imagined her face on the last day he saw her. Standing on the doorstep, holding their three year old daughter in her arms. Her big eyes filled with tears.

“How could you do this to us Sam? HOW COULD YOU RUIN OUR LIVES LIKE THIS?” He remembered how her skin was so smooth, porcelain, and how her petite dancer’s frame outlined the doorway. She’d been a vision, a perfect specimen of womanhood.

Sam squinted his eyes tight before opening them again. The room was dark, filled with nothing but lost memories he couldn’t shake. He began to think about the day his daughter was born. The night he and Sarah got married, and all those ballet productions she’d been a part of. He sat up in his bed, looking towards the stairs that led to the cabin above. There, stood the residual memory of his wife. Standing in the darkness, three year old on hip, with ice blue eyes staring back into his with such hurt.

“I’m so sorry Sarah.” He whispered. The vision said nothing, just looked through him with a gaze that brought tears to his eyes. “Sarah, is that you?” he rose to his feet, not taking his eyes off the image in front of him. Maybe this was it, maybe this was his chance to make it right. As he approached, her face began to twist and distort. The child on her hip began to melt like a wax figure in an inferno. Her lips turned green, her hair began to straggle, it was as if she was drowning right in front of him.

“Sarah” he reached his hand out to touch her. “Sarah, please understand” he wrapped his hand around her arm, he could feel her! He quickly pulled onto her bringing her into him, as he did her being exploded into a heap of water. Suddenly all around him was nothing but water, rising and rushing, pushing to and fro across the floor. Sam looked to the stairs to see water rushing down in haste. He screamed as he felt the water rise to his calves. He lunged towards the stairs, with all his might fighting against the current that flowed down toward him. Entering his mouth and his lungs. Sam tried to fight it, but the more he tried the more water rushed towards him. He looked to the top of the stairs

There, standing amidst the water all around, stood a figure, hideous to behold. Eyes the size of tennis balls, completely red, thumping as though they were the source of blood. No nose, and a mouth like a fish….with sharp scraggled teeth. It’s body was that of a slender woman….like Sarah’s. It opened it’s mouth, letting out a deep bellow that Sam could feel in the pit of his soul.

“I’m here love.” as it spoke, water came pouring from it’s mouth, and with it pieces of what looked like human flesh, blood, and fingernails.

“We’ll be together now” the water rose to Sam’s neck, he couldn’t take his eyes off of the creature.

It smiled at Sam, the water engulfed him.

“Forever and ever Sam. In the water”

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Elisia

 Elisia sat on the porch swing at her mother’s house, looking out at the field of wildflowers just in the distance. She closed her eyes, and let their warm smell fill her lungs. She felt like she was home. She opened her eyes and held her left hand out in front of her face, admiring the diamond ring on her finger. Her fiancee had proposed earlier that week, and she was still riding on cloud nine. Elisia heard a rustling at the front door, she turned her head to see her mother barreling through the screen door with a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses on a tray.

“Okay Lissie! Let’s get to planning!” She set the tray down on the small patio table nearest to Elisia. “We have to figure out a venue, a cake, a dress” Elisia looked over into her mother’s face. Her eyes were lit up with an excitement that made her heart feel so full.

“I think that Chloe wants matching dresses” Elisia’s mother poured her a glass

“Oh, do you mean like matching wedding gowns? Or were you looking for something more like Bridesmaids matching dresses?” Elisia looked at her ring again

“I think she wants one of us to wear a gown, and the other to wear a cocktail dress in the same style” She shook her head and looked up

“That’s not why I’m here, Mom. I came because I wanted to talk to you about my Father” Elisia’s mother sat down beside her on the porch swing with a glass of lemonade. She took a long sip.

“Now, I don’t think finding a gown and cocktail dress that are similar should be a problem. The hard part would be deciding who wears what! You both have very beautiful legs, but a gown is just classic”

“Mom, did you hear me? I want to talk about my FATHER” Elisia stood up and walked in front of her mother making sure that she met her eye line.

“I’m about to get married. It’s a big deal. Everyone will be there, you, Gran and Grandaddy. Chloe’s relatives from New York are coming. It’s important” Elisia felt the tears well up in her eyes. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t become emotional.

“I know that Lissie, but what does any of that have to do with your Father” Her mother took another long sip of Lemonade. Elisia looked out over their property. They’d lived here her entire life. Just the two of them, in this little house on the outskirts of Gatlinburg Tennessee. She’d gone to College in New York, and that’s where she met Chloe. Everything in her life was falling into place. Except of course, the mystery of her Father.

“I feel empty and sick about it Mom. Chloe’s Dad is going to be giving her away. I want…” Elisia felt a lump in her throat.

“You want your Daddy to walk you down the aisle.” Her Mother’s voice cracked “Well, what’s wrong with having a Mama walk you down the aisle Lissie? Hmmm? I’d be more than happy to-”

“It’s not that” Elisia’s words were full of ache, she could feel the heat in her face, and the tears welling up in her eyes. “Don’t get emotional” she thought

“I just need to know who he is. Where he is. Is he alive? Did I even have a Father?”

Her mother put the empty glass back down on the table. Her eyes began to gloss over.

“I had hoped, prayed even, that this day would never come. I thought that I would be all you need. I was foolish in thinking that you, my sweet girl, would never ask me this. I imagined as I was rocking you on this swing when you were a baby, that in would be us against all odds. I believed that if I loved you enough, supported you enough, maybe I could BE enough.” Elisia turned away, looking out at the wildflowers. Her heart swelled with guilt.

“Yes Lissie bug, you have a Father. He lives in Alabama” Elisia turned around quickly to look at her mother still sitting on the porch swing.

“I left him when you were still in my belly. I didn’t even tell him that you existed. I packed my things and left in the dead of night. He thinks I’m dead” Her mother’s tears began to run down her cheeks. “Please don’t try to find him, don’t try to reach out. I changed my name so that he couldn’t find me. He was a bad bad man, Lissie bug. An awful, vengeful man.” Her Mother got up, wiping her tears on her apron.

“Tomorrow when Chloe gets here we’ll go into town and look for dresses. Mrs. Tillman said that she will bake your wedding cake, she’s over the moon excited about it.” She put her fingertips under Elisia’s chin, smiled that loving smile that only a Mother has, and locked eyes with her.

“His name is Gregory, Lissie Bug. He would have killed us both if we’d stayed.” She pushed Elisia’s long black hair behind her ear. “

“This week should be a happy one, let’s not discuss it again” Elisia smiled painfully at her Mother

“Yes Mommy” she whispered.

Her Mother put her arm around her shoulder, guiding her into the house, leaving the conversation behind.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Maple Street Part 2

    Maryanne sat in the kitchenette drinking her fourth cup of coffee. She hadn’t slept much in 2 weeks. Not since James had brought that woman home. She’d had a bad feeling about her from the moment she showed up on their front doorstep, something had seemed off. She was asking for someone named Samuel. Maryanne had volunteered in a psychiatric facility when she was a nurse, she knew that you didn’t argue with the mentally ill and unstable. That’s why she’d said “He’s not here” instead of “You have the wrong address”

Looking back, maybe telling her she’d had the wrong address would have prevented all of this. Maybe she would have thrown herself in front of someone else’s car. Maybe she would have broken up another couple’s marriage, and left her and James alone.

“She’s all alone Maryanne” James had said.

“There are lots of people who are all alone, Jim. Why is that our responsibility?” She remembered the look he gave her and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Maryanne this girl thinks that I’m her father! She needs someone to trust! Can’t we provide that for her?” He dug through their closet looking for something, sighing and shaking his head.

“That poor girl, poor girl I can’t even imagine what she’s been through. She thinks that her father hit her with a car. And she still wants to make amends!”

“Woman” Maryanne had said it in a short, harsh voice.

“What?”

“You keep saying ‘girl’ you make her sound like a small child appeared on our doorstep asking for help. She’s a grown woman, James. A grown woman who THREW herself in front of a moving vehicle!” James yanked their travel case out of the closet and pulled the price tag off.

“She’s coming to stay Maryanne. Just for a while. Just until she finds her way”

That had been that. That was the end of the conversation. James had come home in a few hours with an unwanted house guest, who immediately asked to call her mama, or mah-mah or maa maa. Something strange.

“Can I call you Mom-ma?” Maryanne wanted no part in that. She refused to play along in their deceitful, and almost perverse game of house. And yet, she called her by that name anyway. Everyday, without fail, called her by-

Maryanne looked up at the sound of footsteps. She was coming….

  Rachel ran her fingers along the wallpaper in the hallway. She didn’t remember any of it. She didn’t know if it was the same wallpaper that they’d had when her and her mother lived there. She imagined that after they left, her father was so distraught that he changed everything. That’s why none of her things were still in her bedroom. That’s why everything was so different. She took in a deep breath. Coffee. Mom-ma had made coffee. Mom-ma made coffee every morning. She’d get up before dawn and make so much coffee! Rachel loved it. It was like their own little tradition. Their own little something that they had together that they could share. She walked down the stairs, letting her fingers dance across the railing.

“Mom-ma!” Rachel called out in a sing-songy voice “Mom-ma, I’m coming!” Rachel’s heart began to pound with joy. Soon she’d be sitting at the kitchenette with Mom-ma and they’d wait for Daddy to wake up. Daddy hadn’t been to work for 2 weeks. He wanted to stay home and help Rachel get acclimated to her new home. But of COURSE she’d have no problem getting used to her new home. In a way, this had always been her home.

Rachel came galloping into the kitchenette to see Maryanne sitting at the table with a fresh cup of coffee.

“Oh Mom-ma!” Rachel exclaimed. “You and your caffeine addiction!”

“Please” Maryanne whispered with a shake to her voice “Please, just leave. Please leave. I can’t go on like this. I can’t do THIS any longer. I am weak. I am so exhausted. Can you please, please just find someone else to torture.” Rachel poured herself a cup of coffee and spun around on her heel to face Maryanne.

“But Mom-ma” She said in a sickeningly sweet tone “We only just started to get along. We only just started to get back on track. Oh Mom-ma, we’re a family. I can’t leave you!” Rachel took a long sip of her coffee.

“He’s not your Father” Maryanne thought. She wanted to scream it at her. She wanted to tell Rachel that this whole thing was a lie. That she should take her backpack and leave. She squeezed her mug tightly in her hands.

Rachel stood from the table and slowly made her way to the refrigerator. “Maybe some breakfast would cheer you up”

“I’m not hungry” Maryanne lied. She was starving, she’d barely eaten in a week. Rachel pulled out the milk and the container of oats from on top of the fridge.

“Mom-ma, I’m going to make you some oatmeal. It’s good for you. I want you to stay healthy” Rachel brought her supplies to the stove and started looking for a pot.

The sink was full of dirty dishes, stacks of pots and pans with crusted on oatmeal, sauce, meat and cheese.

“Mom-ma, are you alright? You haven’t done any dishes. That’s how people get sick you know. Once, when I was in the women’s shelter with my mother, I had dish duty. And, oh my goodness Mom-ma it was awful” Rachel let out a small laugh.

“Did Daddy ever tell you about my Mother?” Rachel started filled a saucepan with tap water.

“I imagine he did, He would have had to. In order to have a healthy marriage you should talk about these sorts of things” Maryanne began to shift in her seat. She looked down into her now empty mug.

“No, he never told me about your Mother” Rachel’s head snapped around so fast Maryanne thought she heard her neck crack.

“REALLY? Well, my darling Mom-ma, let me enlighten you” Rachel sat down at the table across from Maryanne. The stove was still on high.

“My mother was a dancer. She worked for a ballet company here in Jackson. She was the most… she was so beautiful…” Rachel’s voice seemed to trail off, her brow furrowed like she was trying to remember.

“There was no Ballet Company in Jackson.” Maryanne thought “St. Paul maybe, but not Jackson.”

“I’m sure she was very beautiful” Maryanne spoke softly, but inside she was screaming.

“We left Daddy when I was 5. I’m sure he told you that much. We ran away. We went to stay with my Grandmother in New York, and when she died….” Rachel trailed off again.

Behind her Maryanne could see the oatmeal bubbling up. This was her chance.

“Rachel, sweetie” She was careful to speak how she imagined a loving mother would. “The oatmeal is….”

“When my Grandmother died the bank took the house and me and my mother were on the street. Do you know what happens on the street Mom-ma? Do you know what happens to a little girl and her beautiful young mother, alone on the street?”

Rachel’s eyes widened and then softened again

“Dear, the o-”

“I don’t imagine you would know about such things. Would you Mom-ma? You were too busy keeping my Daddy from looking for me. He would’ve come for me had it not been for you. I know that. I didn’t know, not when I came here. But, he did come for me in the hospital. That’s how I know. That’s how I know he would have come for me, had it not been for you seducing him into this...this loveless marriage”

Maryanne lost herself, for just a moment in those words

“Loveless ma- loveless?!” her voice cracked

“Mom-ma. Of course it’s a loveless marriage” Maryanne looked behind Rachel to see a large bubble of oatmeal forming just above the rim of the saucepan. “If he loved you, truly truly loved you, he would have left me in that hospital bed” Rachel stood up and turned towards the stove. This was it, this was Maryanne’s moment.

With every ounce of strength in her, she threw the mug at the back of Rachel’s head. Without waiting to see impact, she arose knocking her chair to the ground and ran from the kitchenette toward the front door. She could hear the chain clanging behind her as she made it just to the doorway, then felt an all too familiar pain in her ankle. Maryanne came crashing to the ground. She glanced behind her to see Rachel sitting on the floor with broken mug all around her. She could hear the oatmeal bubbling over into the flames on the oven range. She looked down at her ankle, at the chain wrapped tightly around it causing dark bruises. She’d been sitting at that kitchenette table for a week and a half. She hadn’t seen James in 3 days. Maryanne looked back at Rachel to make sure she was still there, she was, but there might not be time. Maryanne took a deep breath, and pulled her leg, the other end of the chain was attached to the table. She pulled her leg, and the table moved just a bit. She began to wiggle and pull, wiggle and pull.

“She turned me out Mom-ma” Maryanne froze, and quickly looked into the direction where Rachel had been sitting. Only now she was standing, with something in her hand. “Mother left because of you Mom-ma. I always knew. She told me. She told me Daddy had a whore on the side and that’s why we left. That Daddy had found someone else to love. She tried to turn me out Mom-ma. She thought that because I was young and cute that I’d make us some money. But the John she turned me out to was an undercover cop. So Mother went to an institution, I went into the system” Maryanne’s eyes widened in horror. Rachel began to move towards her.

“I ran away when I was 16 because I knew. I knew that we could be a family. A real family. Me, Mother and Daddy. But when I went to the hospital where Mother was the Doctors wouldn’t let me see her. They said she was a Paranoid Sociopath. She has 2 conflicting mental disorders, and she’s violent. But she would have been fine, Mom-ma. She would have been fine if it weren’t for you.” It was now that Maryanne noticed the smoke. The stove was still on!

Rachel was now standing right in front of Maryanne. The will to live was not as strong as it had been moments ago. She accepted that this poor, crazy homeless woman was going to kill her. And that would be it, that would be the end of this hell. Rachel was now so close to Maryanne’s face that she could have crushed Maryanne’s head with her shoe. Rachel knelt down to eye level with Maryanne, raising the object in her hand so that it was parallel to her cheek.

“Maryanne” Her eyes were wide, unblinking.

“Yes Rachel” Maryanne whispered with fear and exhaustion.

“I don’t think it fair. That you would lie to me” Maryanne furrowed her brow in confusion, before the grim reality struck her all at once.

“YOU KNEW? YOU KNEW HE WASN’T YOUR FATHER” Rachel’s lips spread into a sinister smile, as she nodded slowly.

“I figured it out. What I don’t understand is, you had all that time to tell me I was wrong. You could have told me right away that I’d made a mistake.”

She pulled the object in her hand in front of her face so Maryanne could see.

A butcher knife.

“Because you’re not the REAL Mom-ma, I’m going to let you go.” The fire alarm started to go off. The house was filling with smoke, the flames engulfed the kitchenette. Rachel rose to her feet and walked over to Maryanne’s foot that was tied up in chains.

Rachel raised the butcher knife over her head and screamed and she came down full force onto Maryanne’s ankle, only plunging it halfway through. She let go. Maryanne let out a painful whimper, it was all she had left within her, the feeling of the blade inside her was so intense. She looked up into Rachel’s eyes once more, now surrounded by smoke.

“You’ll have to do the rest yourself.”

    Rachel sat on Black Bridge road in Des Moines. She had walked almost 2 hours to get there, but now she could sit and watch the house on Maple street burn. It was quite a show. She could hear the fire engines, like the sweet serenade of victory. She’d find him someday. But today, she was happy to watch their world burn.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.