Nothing but words.
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posted : Saturday, December 18, 2010
title : The Bittersweet Revenge (Prologue)
One
Despite the sweltering summer, Katie was in her knee-length slacks and worn out long-sleeved shirt. She lay on her side in bed, watching the swaying of the trees outside her window. Bending to the force of the wind, succumbing to nature. She could hear the chirping of birds outside, their wings spread wide, soaring through the skies. But when she looked at the reflection on the window, all she could see was someone else staring back at her. A frail body. Dark eyebags circling beneath the once radiant face. Her face was sticky from the tears that had stained her cheeks. All she did for days now, was lie in bed, feeling exhausted and wasted from weeping. All she could think of was the man that robbed her body a month ago, the devil’s hands that groped at her body. When she closed her eyes, the same scene was on constant replay in her mind. Clutching her purse in one hand, she took a last sweeping glance at her office, mentally checking if she had forgotten anything. What a day, she sighed. Swiftly, she switched the lights off. Daniel had called five minutes earlier and was picking her up for a late dinner together and then back home. She hated keeping people waiting, least of all her husband. Just as she stepped out of her office, she met face to face with her co-worker Brody. “Hi Katie”, Brody said, a wide grin on his face. Something seemed off, his movements seemed threatening as he inched closer to her, as she backed into her office. In the darkness of the office, he instinctively closed the door shut. “What are you doing Brody? It’s getting late and I have to go”, she said, marching forward and wanting to cease all these nonsense. A knife slipped out of Brody’s jacket sleeve. “Hush now baby,” he cooed. “Let’s have a little fun.” The next thing she knew, he was pointing the jagged knife at her, ordering her to strip, cornering her towards the smooth surface of the beige painted wall. Touching her, tasting the sides of her neck. He undid his zipper, and then went into her. Two Daniel was in the kitchen. He downed a bottle of vodka to soothe his mind, erase his sorrow, the tormented look of his wife plastered on her face. He wanted to turn back time. If only he didn’t have to stay back later that night, if only he didn’t have to make her wait for him an hour longer, if only he had fetched her on time, if only she left the office with the others, then maybe the sick fool of his wife’s co-worker wouldn’t have had the opportunity to strike, to rape her. There were simply too many what-ifs. For a month now, he had been living in a hell-hole, he wished were nothing but a nightmare that would eventually go away. Daniel hated being a two-faced man. He hated having to pretend to be happy for his wife Katie, when deep down he was wallowed in regret and fury over the rape incident. He remembered the sinister face of the culprit in the courtroom as the judge sentenced him to jail. He could never forget how the pervert took a last glance and leered at his wife, how there was no remorse in his actions. Right then and there, he wanted to sucker-punch him, grab a revolver from the security guard standing near him and Bang, shoot him dead. As he stood in the kitchen pan-searing the fish for dinner, he knew he had to make this one last night perfect, for Katie at least. After doing all he can manage for the past month, quitting his job, bringing her to visit numerous counsellors, getting her engaged in activities and trying to make her forget about the past, it was to no avail. Every single day, she would just lie in bed, as if nothing else in the world mattered anymore. When he tried to coax her, it was like speaking to thin air, the question reverberating in the silence. As he touched her, she would instinctively pull away, as though scalded by a hot iron. He knew that the Katie he once knew and married was gone, replaced by a body whose soul had been emptied. Three He brought up the pan-seared fish that had been sprinkled with buttery herbs and a dash of olive oil, and laid the tray on her bedside table. He knew that when he next checked, it would remain untouched, for Katie barely eats or drinks these days. Her weight had also spiralled downwards as a result. He hated seeing her this way, hated himself for being so helpless and not having the power to ease her pain. But tonight he will, he had to, for her sake. On auto-pilot, he methodically cleaned up the kitchen, washed the kitchenware. He went upstairs to check on her, her body remained in the same position, her eyes staring into the darkness. He switched on the bedroom lights, yet her eyes did not blink from the sudden glare. Her body was still and lifeless. It freaked him to see her this way. He sat opposite her, looking intently at her. “Katie,” he whispered. “Katie, look at me,” he pleaded. If she heard, she made no move to acknowledge or react. As natural as a husband to his wife, he reached out to her, wanted to push back the curl of her hair that was covering part of her face. She recoiled, and before he could even touch her, he was pulling his hands back to rest on his lap. “Katie, I know it has been hard on you. But you have to get yourself together, for yourself, for the rest of those who care about you.” “I love you Katie, and it hurts me very much to see you this way. Will you please say something?” Daniel begged, breaking into soft sobs. There was still no reaction. He knew this would happen, yet he was banking on that small flickering hope, that she may recover and be happy again. He took out three vials of colourless liquid and an injection. He had memorised the steps, had gone through the effort to purchase those chemicals illegally. Come on now Daniel, you have to do this. This is the only way you can end her sorrows. He was caught in between, wanting to end Katie’s pain, yet not wanting to kill her. He had come to his wits’ end, had tried every possible way to make things better. Yet his wife was suffering the slow but sure way to death. Why not put a stop to all these now? Using the sharp tip of the injection needle, he punctured the first vial. Sodium thiopental - the fast-acting barbiturate that depresses the activity of the central nervous system. He knew that this initial shot would rapidly put Katie into a state of unconsciousness, to make the following injections painless. Not wanting her to thrash about while he injected her, he quickly seized her arm, located the vein and injected the fluid into her system. He could feel her bodily movements to oppose him getting weaker, her cries subsiding. Next, he administered the pancuronium bromide, the neuromuscular blocker, and then the final injection of potassium chloride to stop the heart from beating. He cried as he did these, shaking uncontrollably. In a few minutes, his wife was dead. He had repaid the love of his life with death. He felt sick to his stomach. He knew that he should be on the move now. Not because he didn’t want to get arrested for murder. Hell, he wanted to be on the death roll because he deserved it, wanted to be back together with Katie in heaven. But he had things to handle, important things that cannot be ignored. His heart cannot be in peace unless the tasks are carried out. |
Sherlyn.
