I Did It
I shivered as I trudged to the farthest corner of the room, a good ten feet away from the scene of crime. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. As the enormity of the situation sunk in, I slid down to the floor in despair. I cupped my head between my shaking hands, as I sat there, trying to absorb it all.
I had done the needful. It had been long due.
He deserved it.
But I had been resisting it.
I wondered why?
Had I been creating perfect excuses not to do it?
Was it the emotional attachment that made me delay it again and again?
The optimist in me had probably hoped for things to change for the better. Hah! All those fairy-tales I grew up reading had made me desperate for a happy ending.
A ‘happily ever after’ that wasn’t meant to be.
I heard myself humming a popular number from a Hollywood flick.
“ It must have been love, but it’s over now!”
Aah…it had everything going for it. Bouquets of bright red roses, endless conversations over coffee, strolls along crystal clear mountain streams and passionate nights under the star-lit skies.
I shudder to think how the red in the roses turned to gore, why the incessant chatter gave way to a sinister silence or when the bubbly,meandering brook lost itself in the unforgiving stillness of a murky swamp.
The passion gave way to aggression in dim-lit closed rooms.
I looked up and caught my reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall.
Did I see tears? Symbols of grief…eh? Was I mourning over a tragedy that was inevitable? Some funerals are foreseen much before the death occurs.
Or were they tears of relief? The relief that one feels when unburdened. Was I not feeling lighter? As I stared at my dishevelled self for a couple of minutes, I realised that the knot in my stomach that I had come to accept as a part of my existence for the last few months, had miraculously disappeared
I took a deep breath.The ache in my heart seemed to have diminished too.
My attention went back to the gleaming object on my bedside table that screamed of the offence.It needed my attention.I gathered myself and strode towards it. I saw a few red marks here and there. I took care of them.Scrutinising it with hawk-like eyes, I took pride in my flawless execution.
Violence excited him.
He was thirsty for bloodshed.
I had to give in.
Give in to his demands, as always.
As an aureate glow spread through the room after a difficult night, I braced myself to face the consequences of my actions.
My hands quivered a little as I dialled the number.
“It’s done,” I sighed.
“ Murder,yeah.”
“Blood, gore, betrayal…dark,very dark,” I emphasised.
“Yeah, I know soppy romances don’t work anymore!”
“Mailed it.Check the changed manuscript and let me know.”
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