Second post
Just keeping this alive. More on blogspot. Since Carey has moved here, maybe I’ll blog here more.
I open the door.
“NO!”
The echo thudded in harmony with my heart.
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The rich loamy smell of the ground hugs the air, this is the first smell of spring I noticed. I was awaken by the scent of roasted coffee that fills the entire kitchen with the taste of morning. For months now, the new coffee maker has act as an alarm clock for me. I have set it so that every morning I would wake up with a cup of freshly-brewed Blue Mountain coffee. I will then sit down with my husband and enjoy the lovely colours of the spring. This is the life I’ve desired and this is also the reason why I have decided to move here 20 years ago, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. My husband earn quite a reaonable paycheck working in a renowed departmental store back then. However, I was not happy and most importantly he was not happy. This is when both of us decided that a sedentary lifestyle is probably more suitable for us. So here we are in Rorkstown. A small, quaint town with population of 1300. This is a place where everyone knows everybody.
***
My husband walks down the stairs in his khaki pants, making creaking sounds at the second and fourth intervals. It’s Sunday. Unlike any other Sunday, he is going hunting with Billy. Every year, during this time, both of them take to the woods with renewed enthusiasm and vigor. Billy has been his friends for many years now. They met during a camp during their younger years and have remained pals or they prefer to call themselves partners-in-crime. A five-years-old smile flashes across his face when I offer him his coffee. And once again, my husband of twenty years ago appears before me. He walks to the store with a bounce in his steps. I could tell that he has been waiting for this day like a child waiting for Christmas. He checks his gun thoroughly and I am surprised to see that it fits into his hands like a glove. My husband whose life revolves around giving lectures and marking assignment suddenly had that look of a predator lying in ambush, where you will be attack the moment you least expected. I shoved of that image and even laugh at myself for even having such a thought. He loads his Marlin 336 and carries a few cartridges in his pouch. He kissed me goodbye and checks out.
***
The sun moves slowly towards the horizon. Expecting him to be back soon, I reheat the dinner. I have prepared his favourite pasta and lemon basil sauce to go with the meat he is about to bring back. I hope is a deer which go best with the sauce. I watch the timer on the microwave, decreasing second by second. I even took some time arrange and set the cutlery on the table. I could hear footsteps approaching nearer to the front door. Two pairs of them. He must have invited Billy to join us. I headed to the door, managing to put up my best smile. I open the door….
A shadow raises his arm, took a step back and pulls the trigger.
“NO!”
The projection from the 9mm shatters the silence of the night. As the shadow steps into the light, my heart stops. Billy looks at me, sorry and grief-stricken. Blood gushes out from my husband temple. I could not breathe as I watch my husband crumbles to his knees in a pool of blood. Billy walks to my direction but my mind could not register anything. He pulls me into his embrace and we kissed, sealing our deal.
