The Call Of Death (IP)

It was a misty, damp morning when the call came. My mobile sprang to life and woke me from my dreams with a start. The screen was bright and illuminated my face. My eyes slowly adjusted.

Who could be calling me at this ungodly hour? I looked at the time, birds still asleep in their beds making no noise.

I answered the call not knowing what to expect. A voice on the other end started to speak. I didn’t recognise the voice at all but they knew me. I listened without interrupting even though I had no idea who they were.

After the call, I was awake and could not sleep. My husband was still snoring next to me, completely oblivious to the call and what had been said. I should have woken him and told him but what was the point in us both being awake.

When the sunlight started seeping in through the edges of the blind, I got up and went to open them. Now I needed to talk to my husband about this phone call. What would I tell him? I had lied to him and now it was here to haunt me.

I gently woke him, even though he looked perfect asleep, like my knight in shining armor like he always was and how he needed to be now. I had to tell him the truth of everything, about who I was and what my past looked like.

We went to the kitchen and sat down and I talked while he listened. I told him that I was a liar. I was a witness to a crime 20 years ago and I had a whole change of identity to protect me from the gang. I told him about the call and how it was a police officer telling me that the man responsible for the crime had escaped prison and would be looking for me. Now he understood everything. Why I didn’t use social media or liked my photo being taken. He saw my fear and how my hands trembled throughout the whole conversation.

After I finished, I saw him for the first time. I did not see my knight in shining armor but saw a man with a smirk of satisfaction on his face. Then I knew why he was smiling that way. He told me that the gang had been waiting for this day and now it was here. He told me that he was a liar but he did it out of loyalty for the gang. He told me not to run, told me he loved me and held my quivering hands tight. I knew I couldn’t get away and why try. 

That was the day I finally realised that trust is never truly trust and now I am six feet under buried far from where anyone will ever find me.