REACTIONS
Zach
appeared to be taking things in his stride. He had never once mentioned
anything relating to her infidelity five years ago. That also added to her
guilt. She couldn’t live with herself. Every night, she saw Dale – a very fiery
and angry Dale. He came to her, calling her name in the softest of tones
imaginable, inviting her for one more tryst. Every night, she drifted towards
him, and every time, he set her ablaze with his touch. She would scream,
begging him to let her go, set her free, but he would laugh, a laugh that
sounded like the burning of dry leaves and branches. But just as his fire was
about to consume her, he would withdraw, as if he himself had been scorched by
his own fire.
As she sat at
the doorstep leading to their backyard garden, staring into nothingness, Cathy
hoped the note was only a sick joke one mean child is playing on them. She could
not bear to believe that Dale survived that fire. They had made sure that the
house was ablaze before they got into the taxi and drove away. There was no way
Dale could have made it out. Besides, he had suffered a mortal injury, even
before she and Zach had decided to torch their house. Dale was dead. He was
dead! Dead! Dead!!! No one came back from the dead to taunt the living with
sinister notes. Even Jesus did not do such a thing. She had to do something,
but what could she do?
Zach was
thinking along the same lines as he sat beside his wife at the doorstep. Something
must be done about this note. They could not report harassment to the police because
they could not report the dead. And if they decided to, they would have to
expose their part in the death of that person. It had been five long years,
sixty good months since they had burned down their house. That guy should be
resting in peace in his ashes. Looking at his wife tucked in his side, he knew
she was doing her best to handle it. He knew it would become part of the dreams
she would be having at night. And he knew there was squat he could do about it
all. What kind of man was he if he could not protect his wife? Something had to
be done, and fast, but he had no idea how to fight a literate ghost. He sighed.
“Cathy, my
love, the food will go cold. Come on, let’s go and have breakfast.”
“I’m not
hungry, Zach,” she replied dully.
“My dear, I’m
not sure starving will bring a resolution. We will figure something out
together. Let’s have breakfast.” Zach got up and tried to pull Cathy up but she
would not budge. She just shook her head. “Go on and eat. I’ll join you soon.”
Zach left
her at the doorstep and headed for the kitchen. Truly, he had also lost appetite,
but someone had to be strong for the both of them, and being the man, he felt
it was his natural duty to do so. He sat at their small, circular, wooden dining
table and helped himself to the fried eggs and a pot of coffee that had long
gone cold. He began to quiz himself with critical questions: could that man (he
didn’t want to mention his name) have miraculously survived? If he had, how was
that possible? Zach remembered rather hazily that Cathy had set their house
ablaze. If by some fickle chance the man had survived the bullet injury, how
could he have escaped the inferno unscathed? Or, did ghosts really exist in the
21st century?
Zach rose
quickly from his seat at the table, determined to make his wife cheerful in spite
of the situation. He went back to their backyard to get his wife. He would
suggest a day out, get active, have fun, maybe find a secluded place along the
beach and make love… just something to bring back the mood they had sparked
just that dawn. However, he had to find his wife first. He had not heard her
move from her seat at the door. Where could she have gone to? Oh no, what if
the deliverer of the note had abducted his wife? Had he lost her again?! He
cried out in anguish, “Cathy!!!”
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