Dear Maria: Chapter 7

Elaine stared in confusion at the hole in the wall. Who on earth was that strange woman? She stood awkwardly in the filthy bathroom, wondering if she should follow her. After a long exhale, she decided against it. There was work that needed to be done. She exited the bathroom.

The patients room she entered looked just as it should; the plain white floor returned to its sturdy and polished look, there were no insects in sight, the bed was perfectly made and the walls had fallen back into their grey melancholy state. This made no sense. Elaine looked around before walking over to the flat sheets on the bed, running her fingers over the creaseless surface. Staring intently at the material, she shook her head and swiped strands of hair away from her eyes. “It must have been one insane dream.”

Her hand bag was waiting patiently for her on the desk. With a final sweep of the room, Elaine plodded over to the bag, swung it on her shoulder and exited the room. As she approached the exit of the hospital, her body and mind began to fill with anxiety. In her dream, she had been trapped in the building with absolutely no way out. What if she was trapped now? What if she was unable to escape and would never see her daughter, her husband or her dad again? She could feel her eyes swell at the thought. Extending her shaking arm, she focused all her strength into her hand, ready to push the door open with whatever energy she had. The bar gave way easily and the door swung open.

It was raining, as usual. The skies open weeps reflected the sadness that had somehow taken over the town. The sadness, the silentness and the emptiness that rested deep within everyone hearts. The tears were falling so heavily, that they created a hazy layer of wet mist, making the town look more dreary and clouded than it did normally. She sighed, part of her was relieved to be outside again, but another part was filled with sudden sadness at the remembrance of all the residents of Napels. She just wanted to go home. Marcus should be back from his business trip already. Maybe he’ll have managed to cheer up her once fun and lively home.

With downhearted steps, she began the familiar trek home. Her heeled footsteps echoed familiar deep “clumps” around her, filling the empty streets and alleys with the rhythmical sound. She shivered as the ran pricked her skin. Walking was certainly more unpleasant in the rain, especially with no way to shelter herself. She was freezing, her hair was plastered to her face and her clothes were clinging to her flesh. The weather was certainly bringing her down. How she just wished her dad would make one of his smart, witty comebacks again whenever she tried to tell him to take his medication, or whenever she moaned at his to get his old ass off the sofa and go take a walk. She wished she could see Victoria smile and laugh again or watch her play with her dolls instead of sitting on her bed as if she herself was a doll. She couldn’t wait to see her husband, he’d been away to long, she’d missed him so much…

Inside, she could feel her emotions twist and thrive there way to the surface. “No,” she whispered, “I’m not going to cry… I’m wet enough.” Elaine stepped straight into a large puddle, filling her shoe with the cold water, almost freezing her foot. With a frustrated cry, Elaine stopped walking and just stood silently in the rain. The simple act had been the final thing that just sent her off the edge. The tears rolled down her cheek and her sobs were soft. Her emotions began to escalated as if they were desperate to escape the woman’s body. Her sobs became wails and Elaine darted into a nearby alley, afraid someone would see her, even though she knew in the back of her mind that nobody would be there. She ran further and further into the alley, eyes screwed tight as tears still managed to leak their way though. Soon enough, Elaine lost her footing and wept tumbling to her knees. The sudden burn of her flesh ripping brought her quickly back to her senses. Remaining immobile on her hands and knees, she slowly opened her eyes and stared at the hard concrete below her. After collecting her thoughts together, she slowly began to shift herself so she was sitting upright against a wall. Blood was seeping through the tear in her knee and her palms were raw red. Luckily, she wasn’t severely hurt. The walls seemed to be blocking some of the rain and most of the wind. Elaine decided to sit her for a few moments to bring herself together before she would continue on her journey home.

Returning to the remotely calm state she had been in earlier, Elaine stood up wincing slightly at the pain. She brushed herself off and was just about to walk towards the street as an unexpected gust of wind rushed by, whipping her dripping hair in every direction. The wind carried a foul scent. Elaine grimaced in repulsion. She knew the scent very well, she’d dealt with it several times at work. It was the smell of death.

With curious steps, Elaine began to turn around and headed deeper into the alley. The stench got stronger with every step, she could vaguely see its source; a heap of baggy clothes worn by a corpse. She stepped closer, hearing her foot making a soft splash. Elaine was sure that it wasn’t another normal rain puddle she just stood in. The body had its back to her, but this didn’t stop Elaine from creeping closer and closer to the unidentifiable mass. As if she was snooping around on private land, Elaine carefully tip-toed around to the other side of the body. She froze in mid-step.

The mans body lay there, arms flung into some impossible position, as were his legs. His perfectly chiselled face had been sculpted into a vision of horror and fear. His dead eyes, glazed orbs of tragedy, stared eternally onwards at the ghost of his killer. He had a large scrap of blood tinted metal jutting out from his chest. Elaine suddenly felt her own weight was too much to bear as she fell to the ground. She scrambled over to the body and grabbed his face in her hands, feeling the iciness of his flawless grey skin. Her eyes erupted with a fountain of tears. She buckled over at the waist and placed her forehead against the corpses. She got her wish, she got to see her husband.

She leaned up and stared into his empty eyes. How? What on earth happened here? Her husband, her loving, gentle, caring, amazing, funny, perfect husband lay dead in front of her. They had been together since they were teenagers, and now, the man that she had loved unconditionally for the majority of her life…gone. Someone had killed him. She traced a shaking finger over his cheek, stroking it, as if she was trying to comfort the body. Her hand made a path down the mans shoulder and along his left arm, which was the least disfigured of all his limbs. A chilly prick ran through Elaine’s senses as her fingertip collided with the small golden ring wrapped around his finger. Every memory seemed so crystal clear. First kiss, falling in love, his proposal, the wedding…everything. Everything flooded back to her. A wave of hysteria drowned her as Elaine collapsed onto her love’s body. She wrapped her arms around the still mass and hugged in so tightly the rigid figure should of snapped in two.
“No…” she whispered into the body’s torso, “no…not my Marcus…not my Marcus…”
Again, she sat up and clutched the figures face. Slowly, she shook her head as tears streamed down her face as her mouth hung open in a shape of despair. “Not you. I-I-I need you.” her pitched raised into a squeaky yelp, “Please don’t leave me here. I love you Marcus, I love you.” She buried her face in her hand and let the misery engulf her body. The rain must have gotten heavier, as it now found its way into the alley. The drops pounded off the ground and began to wash away the puddles of dried blood, creating little red rivers that flooded away to the street that seemed so far away. Elaine screamed into the dark haze and a sudden bolt of lightening tore though the sky. A drop of rain landed on Marcus’ unflinching eyes, which rolled along the ball until it finally spilled free and trickled down his cheek.