Reflections

Reflections

           She stared searchingly into the eyes of the guilty party. She stared back. There was something ominous about their interaction… the round object on the wall told her all she refused to accept.

Suddenly, the thunder roared in the distance, drawing her attention to the sliding window to the left of her bed. Guess the weather report was right after all, she thought, it is going to be a rainy day.

Mandy glanced around her cosy yet untidy bedroom; her bed looked more appealing by the second. But Mandy knew that her assignment needed to get done. Her professor and her group members were upset with her enough as it is. She made it seem like nothing to her and her display of nonchalance irritated them even more.

Mandy recalled their last meeting with Professor Anthony Blake. Through gritted teeth he had chastised her.

“Whatever happened to the once studious Mandy? You’ve almost completed your degree and now is the time you’re letting the ball slip from your hand? It is such a shame!” he ended with an exasperated breath.

No one knew what had influenced the sudden change. Mandy was literally fighting to keep her life on track. Her father had passed away a few months ago, of this she told no one, shortly after her dog Andy died, she was on the verge of losing her scholarship and of course she still had to work part time at Lovie’s Restaurant. She used to tell Andy everything, but with him gone, she had no one left. She left the office without a word and headed to work.

“Mandy?”

“Mandy?”

“Mandy Parkinson! Are you sleeping on the job?” Lovie asked sternly. When she saw Mandy’s face her voice softened. “Go home dear, we can manage for the rest of the evening. Take a cup of coffee for the road and wash your face. See you tomorrow, hon.”

“A-a-are you sure?” Mandy stuttered, shocked by the tenderness in her voice and gesture.

“Yes, I am. Now go before I change my mind,” she said with a smile.

Mandy hugged her unexpectedly and Lovie blushed. She did as she was told and dragged towards her car.

Mandy hurriedly drank the coffee and pulled the car from the parking lot. “For a brilliant girl, you are pretty stupid at times,” said a small voice in her head. It had started to rain lightly and the small voice in her head repeated the same words, which she ignored. Mandy yawned widely and then she remembered… coffee makes me extremely drowsy. It had started to rain heavily and all she could think about was getting home. The rain began to impinge on the freedom she so eagerly sought.

The thunder roared again, but this time it came with company, the bright light from the strike drew her eyes to the window once more; drawing her back to reality. Mandy walked across the room slowly and peered outside. She realized it was quite windy, even the leaves seemed to be hurrying across the lawn in order to get shelter before the rain. The pregnant clouds started their timely release and Mandy watched from her safe haven. She walked towards her desk and opened her laptop. Her reflection and the flashing light seemingly willed her to recall that fateful night.

She yawned widely again. Pull over, she thought, but I want to get home she countered. Mandy continued her journey with her exhausted mind and tired eyes with the rain and lightning as her companions. She attempted to turn on the radio but it seemed her eyes had another agenda and they closed immediately without Mandy’s realization…

She hit something… she drove over it… the car began running down the slope. Vaguely Mandy realized what was happening and jammed on the brakes. She sobbed violently, and she felt better than she had in months.

I hit something! Or maybe someone! The realization slapped her in the face. Should I go back to investigate or disappear? Pretty sure no one will be on the road to put me on the scene. “You are out here, aren’t you?” her conscience replied with a sneer.

The rain had eased a little. Mandy spun her black Suzuki Grand Vitara around and went up the hill with ease, thank God for four-wheel drive. She went up the slope and sped towards home without looking back.

The pitter-patter on the zinc roof intensified. She looked at her reflection in the screen and she noticed the streaks of tears on her oval face and her nappy hair, which badly needed an intervention. She looked into her hazel eyes once more which glistened because of the tears and her conscience willed her to think about that night.

Since then she had found it difficult to look at herself. She struggled not only with the deaths of her father and her pet and university but also with the thought that she had killed someone. Mandy started to sob once more. Her conscience was getting the best of her. Turn yourself in to the police it nagged.

“119 what’s your emergency?”

“I killed someone,” Mandy shouted hysterically.

“Ma’am, calm down…”

Mandy didn’t even realize that she had made the call, she wasn’t even aware that she took the phone from the hook. She hung up abruptly.

Mandy cried and cried, it seemed Mother Nature felt her pain and cried with her.

Minutes later a sharp knock sounded on the front door. Who was that she thought? Mandy didn’t even bother to make herself presentable, she opened the door and her jaw dropped. There stood two burly police officers with their hands on their pistols. Mandy was thunderstruck.

“Good day ma’am, I am Detective Andrews and this is my partner Detective Parker. We received a strange phone call from this location a few minutes ago about a murder,” said the muscular man with piercing dark brown eyes, “We are here to investigate.”

Mandy tried to speak but no words came. “Well the cops are here, might as well tell them the truth,” her conscience piped up.

Mandy gathered her composure a little and invited them in. She told them to take a seat in the small dining area.

“I made the call,” Mandy said squeakily. She relayed the incident to the officers and didn’t even stop to take a breath.

The officers glanced at each other. “And you are sure this happened two nights ago… that’s the 14^th of August?” Detective Parker asked.

“Yes, sir,” Mandy responded. She started crying again.

“Do you happen to have a dashboard camera?” Andrews asked with a smirk, “I couldn’t help but notice the blinking light on your dashboard.”

No words came and Mandy nodded through the hysterics. She was going to jail now for sure. She had proof of the murder all along and didn’t realize.

“Why didn’t I check?” she asked herself… “I told you, you were stupid for a smart girl,” her conscience cheekily responded.

In the heavy rain, Parker went for the memory card from the camera. By the time he returned, Andrews had acquired the laptop. Mandy sat on the cold floor with her arms around her knees, rocking back and forth, only muffled sobs were heard. She couldn’t look.

Shortly after, Mandy heard rambunctious laughter fill the room. She looked up, appalled. She wondered how these guardians of the law could possibly laugh at such an unfortunate incident. When they saw her facial expression, they laughed even more. They must be demented she thought to herself. As if reading her expression, Andrews said between blurts of laughter, “you didn’t murder anyone.”

Now Mandy was even more taken aback.

“Wh-wh-what do you mean?”

He stopped and he turned the screen towards me.

“I don’t want to see it!” 

“Miss Parkinson, just humour me.”

There was something about his eyes…

Mandy looked at the screen intently. She saw eyes glistening at the flash of her headlights… a dog’s maybe? She wasn’t sure. But she understood why they laughed and relief washed over her. Mandy felt as if a burden was lifted. They stood to leave.

“Miss Parkinson, we regret to inform you that you are not a murderer,” Parker said with a smirk, while Andrews nearly died with laughter.

Mandy’s face reddened, she was embarrassed but the relief was more overwhelming. She let them out and noticed that the rain was still pelting. For the first time in a long time, she felt like there was hope. Inspiration clicked and Mandy took up the laptop so she could work on her part of the group assignment.

Mandy headed to her room and paused in front of the mirror. She grinned and Mandy grinned back.