LOVE AND MURDER

Blood oozed out of his big eyes as his clothes continued to soak in his own pool of blood which was already beginning to thicken. His body lay like ghoulish mannequins, the oesophagus and arteries sticking out like rubber tubing. The room was filled with the smell of fresh blood. The smell which only came from recently slaughtered animals in this case, the animal was human and his corpse was still warm.  My wife who was holding a knife stained with fresh blood (the knife which had taken away her ex-boyfriend’s life) stood on the other end of the room shaking as a frail leaf in autumn. She had just stubbed Johnnie in the area close to his heart after he had tried to force her to leave me for him.

Johnnie was the man she first had an affair with long before we got married. They had been together in love until the day she found out that he was a drug bandit. However much she tried to free herself from him, his grasp got a better hold of her. Laura was afraid of losing her life, so she stayed by him until one day news came that Johnnie had been arrested while shipping tankers full of drugs to the nearest island which was well known for dealing drugs.  On this day when he met his death, he had just escaped from prison and headed straight to our house to steal Laura from me. 

I remember clearly the day I met Laura. She had the beauty any man could admire. She was shorter than average and certainly larger than a cat walk model, yet in her ordinariness, she was stunning.  The first time she looked at me my heart melted away; she looked right through my skin straight through my veins. But above all things, she had really serious curves that made me give her the name ‘potty.’ Something radiated from within that rendered her irresistible to both genders. Men desired her and women courted her friendship.

From that day, I promised her heaven and she subscribed to it. Not because she thought I was telling her the truth but maybe cause she thought I just said it as other men always did. But for sure I did love her even to the point of taking a grenade for her. Hence on this day when she had just killed someone who wanted to be a barrier to our union, I could not let her bear the cross alone. We had just been married one month and two days. Laura held me tight as she shivered as though she was experiencing a cold. Quickly I took a clean piece of cloth and wiped her finger prints from the knife then replaced them with my own.  “It is well my potty, you have nothing to worry about,” I whispered to my love. The same way Laura had protected our marriage by keeping Johnnie out of it is the same way I was going to protect her.

The sirens were so loud outside. The men in blue got to the scene of crime in no time. “Mr. Richard, you’re under arrest for the murder of Mr. Johnnie. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do will be used against you in the court of law.” That marked the beginning of my sentence. The judge was just too nice and really good to send me to jail for 10 years since the murdered guy was a wanted criminal. In fact, we did them a favor of delivering him to them. Laura cried bitterly as she watched me being sent behind bars over her own cross.  She could come visiting me until there came a time she asked not to since she couldn’t stand seeing me in agony and pain. I did understand her. I could not stand seeing her cry either. So she quit visitations. 

Days, weeks, years and finally the time of my freedom had come. My heart beat as fast as it was filled with joy of finally getting to meet my potty who was the reason I got the strength to live through the entire sentence. Not informing her of my coming would be the best surprise I could ever give her. That morning as the prison bars were opened, I walked out with a really strong spirit. Finally I could get to hold her in my arms. The bus moved slowly as though it was against me getting home to my wife.  Eventually I was home. The compound was really well kept with the lawn well-trimmed. We now had a kennel just by the door side. Carefully but hurriedly I walked to the door and made a knock.

“Mummy, there’s someone at the door!” was the shout I heard from inside. Then the door hinge moved and the figure of a woman stood at the door. In her hands was something that looked like a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. That was not my concern cause on looking keenly at this woman figure, it was my potty, my Laura. I knew it was her. She never smiled when she saw me. She instead looked so surprised and shocked all at the same time. I wished I was standing in the wrong door but I was not. “Laura…is it you?” I tried to speak but the words just got swallowed up. My throat felt so dry. “Richard, I am really sorry. I did not mean to hurt you.” 

No, she did not hurt me. She actually killed me.