The Man

He walked nonchalantly up the New England lane. The frail autumn leaves crackled under his stride. With every satisfying crunch he smiled contently, thinking it sounded like the snap of bones under his feet. He liked the sound of that.

He was almost there now; he saw her white picket fence in the distance. She would be asleep now, so her end would be painless, but she would never have to worry. He would make her decision for her tonight.

He put his hands in his pocket and smiled very contently at the conclusion he had come to that afternoon when he saw her with that scumbag. Now she wouldn’t have to decide.

He walked through her front gate. It wasn’t locked; he had sat many times near by and just watched her walk in. He walked up the path up to her front steps. Next to the door was the place where she hide her spare key, in a little rusty kettle pot. The key sat underneath a small pot of blue forget-me-nots; just like her eyes. After tonight she would never forget him.

His smile was slim, running from ear to ear as he unlocked the door with a satisfying click as the tumblers allowed him in. He couldn’t wait to see her face of relief when he found her.

He walked into the house and looked around him in awe. He was in his beloved’s house for the first time. It was quant even in the dark. The stairs lay directly in front of him, the moon shined down on them as if guiding the way to her.

He crept up the stair cautiously.

There were five rooms at the top of the stairs. He opened each one, slowly. Using a feather like touch on the knob so not to give away his presence. With the third door he found his angel.

He slinked up to the side of her bed and leaned over her and stared. He saw her eyes groggily open. Sheer panic drenched her face. But he swiftly covered her mouth and smiled as he motioned her to be quiet all the while smiling from ear to ear. She began to cry silently and he spoke for the first time.

“Don’t worry my angel, you’ll never have to choose again.” He kissed her lips, but he held their lips firmly together.

As he tried to lavish his feelings on her he reached back pulled a long hunting knife out of his boots.

When it was all said and done he held her naked in his arms letting her blood flow from her neck out onto the sheets. He held her, satisfied that she would remember their time together forever. She would never have to choose to be with another man. She had the memory of their shared intimacy to cherish forever. He held her until the morning came. He kissed her good-bye and left to go to work.