Dead woman tells no tale

You see yourself lying on the hospital bed, dead, with your eyes smashed with broken glass, your lips torn and blood covering your temples. Even after death did this blood look so bright red and watery. You don’t remember how or when you came here though the remembrance of your beautiful face turning hideous is so vivid.

‘’Why did this happen to my child? What sin did she commit? What sin did we commit that you took her away? Why, God, why?’’ Your mother-in-law is looking at the ceiling with nothing save malice in her eyes.

‘’What has hap___?’’ your speech is halted in midair as you realize you are invisible to humans, somebody just entered the cabin, and avoiding him you scan the room to see tear stained faces, along with a smirk on their lips.

You are unknown to any accident you faced as you don’t remember anything after your face had been smashed; you wander at what accident your mother-in-law was telling the police about. The police are roaming the hospital in the search for the answers to:

When did she leave home?

With whom did she travel?

Where was she supposed to reach?

What was the vehicle and whose was it?

You yourself are unknown to all the answers to the questions. As you put great pressure on your mind only one remembrance is presented.

As you walk into the room complete darkness hits you. All lights turned off with the candles snuffed out. Adjusting your eyes to the darkness you fumble for the light switch realizing all are turned on. You turn on the flash light and approach the bedside table for the matches. The candles illuminate such a view you are awestruck. ‘Is it a surprise? It has to be. It is your birthday after all.’ Your husband has been quite busy with his financial problems, more than you have been, and still he found time to do all these. Your eyes well up with tears at this sudden pleasure. Then you see it, o note, in the center of the bed, ‘absurd,’ you mutter and pick it up. What you read is even peculiar than the position:

EFBUI_____at_____9:00pm          

Unable to break the code you turn to the gifts propped on your bedside table, your bookshelf, your desk and your dressing table, all of which are quite odd. They were, a church picture, a white cloth, a picture of a grinning face, shards of glass, and weirdest of all a car crashing into a cafe. ‘What do all these mean? He is not in a position to waste money. Then what are all these about?’

There is a knock on the door, you don’t properly remember closing. A man, you know clearly enough, half masked, only showing that familiar grin, appeared. Proceeding towards him you touch his face and chuckle, ‘Jim.’ His grin is widening by every minute.

“What is the time Madeline?” “Sorry um…. its 8:59,”you answer checking your phone. “ Then lets countdown to your________59,58,57,56-------2,1,0_____________ to your DEATH,” he screamed as everything blacked out. Piercing pain shot through your eyes to your brain as shards of glass intruded your vision and your head being banged on the wall several times you, lost balance and crumpled to the floor.

You still had not closed your ears as you listened to all those words that entered your body more fiercely than glass fragments. ”You better leave the world, no wants you here anyway. Besides who would like a 24/7 working lady as a wife, with no proper knowledge of household chores? ---literally nobody,” spoke the grinning face. Soon you were being hoisted by him as everything ensued in dead silence.

Soon the memory came to an end.

“How weird is that? Wife goes missing with someone else and family has no knowledge of it. There’s something wrong with this family, either the girl was mad to leave her husband or the husband was mad enough to let wife go with an outsider. By the way Aaron search for this outsider, his car may give us some clue.” “Why are you barking at the wrong tree, sir?” tears gush down your invisible cheeks.

“Yesterday was her birthday, sir all were –busy preparing and decorating. Her husband arranged it specially for her, after a long time. In this hustle and bustle we never noticed her leaving the house.” Your mother in law proves to be a great actress.

 “Her body was found quite close to your residence, which means she was either returning or had just started the journey and never reached the destination.”

“You’re right, sir, I could have never reached my destination, because they would never let me to. This entire sympathy, sir, is nothing but a jest to my corpse. They are mocking my death sir can’t you see. I’ve always loved my husband, sir, how could I leave him, sir? They have never let me lead a peaceful life; they scolded me for the tiniest mistakes and hit me if I ever protested. Just because I am a working woman does not mean I don’t know how to care for them. I did my best sir, you know, I just wanted to make my husband’s life easier, I wanted his working hours to be lessened. I wanted to improve our financial position. They could have just told me they didn’t like or want my help. I would leave the job. You know what my worst mistake was, sir? I trusted Jim. I thought he was supporting me. He did never complain and was always content with my work. He was my only support system, sir. But he proved to a monster in an angel’s costume. Did you hear anything, sir can’t you all hear a murdered soul pleading for justice? Can’t you?”

Suddenly you view that grin again, standing over your corpse and grimacing with his eyes shedding tears, of joy probably. You know you are invisible but you can feel your face growing hot and stiff as you drag yourself towards your death bed. Towering over him you ask him quietly, more to yourself than to him;

“But Jim did I- did I ever leave you, your room, or your house before you--you – killed me?”