What is our elixir of love? Well, it is just plain brewed coffee but maybe I call it so because as I drink in its aroma before taking an actual sip, all those twinkling little stars in the purple-black sky appear to be meticulously placed romantic, burning.
If you sneak to the roof of our home, somewhere towards the corner you will come across a wooden bench. There is nothing extraordinary about it except for the fact that it is extremely old. So old that it screams in protest every time we sit on it. But it means a lot to us all the same for this is where we sip our elixir of love each night and fall for each other a little more. What is our elixir of love? Well, it is just plain brewed coffee but maybe I call it so because as I drink in its aroma before taking an actual sip, all those twinkling little stars in the purple-black sky appear to be meticulously placed romantic, burning candles—just the wrong shade; or maybe because as I drink it, I yearn to touch his lovely black curls even more. But then he calls me his Silly Darling Angel whenever I list these reasons so maybe I do it for I love being called so.
“Jimmy, put me down!” I protest with a giggle as he carries me down the stairs. He manages to carry the empty coffee mugs too making it even more urgent for me to ask him to put me down. “I’m a strong man you know,” he replies faking a hurt face. I laugh and repeat, “Of course. A strong man.” “Why. You doubt it, girl?” he mimics a villain’s angry voice and drawls, “Maybee then I’ll just let go of you and take pleeeasure in watching you tumble down the stairs slooowly and hit the wall as your faaace turns riiich crimson with warm blooood…” I fake a disgusted face and snap, “Mr Villain, stop being so morbid!” and at this both of us laugh….
Hello! This is Alex Destiny. Jimmy is my husband and I am his oasis in the desert. But I guess you already know how much in love we are so I’ll just skip that part. (Laugh) Other things that you should know about me: I have been happily married for two years now. I majored in Human Psychology and know my job pretty well but then I am a homebody through and through. So you will find me-At home. And…I have a knack for attracting nightmares... They come to me in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they haunt me for days but I live through it. After all, I have Jimmy! (Smile)
I.
The ache in the upper midsection of my body is so profound; each atom there must be sizzling in some very concentrated acid. To breathe love, eat love and talk love is to live in the realm of fantasy and this right now is my reality check.“Jimmy, you want to live here”, I mumble. Unsure if I mean it as a question or a statement. In front of me stands a two-storey house which can be best described as haunted- Ivy creeps through its dull walls giving it a chilly décor and hungry eyes seem to be glaring at you from those many dark windows but it’s wide open door is the most unnerving sight of all. It looks like the trapdoor to hell; tempting you to enter it…never to open again.
Jimmy starts for the door never answering my query. I want to tell him to not to enter the house but it’s already too late. So instead I try to dial down the empty feeling and follow him.
The house is completely dark. All I can do is go after Jimmy’s footsteps. With each step taken, the place seems to turn even creepier. “Jimmy, how do you plan on surviving this place?” I blurt out when that is the last question I want answered. Silence.
I try to swallow the drastically forming lump in my neck but as much as I wish they would not, tears dribble down my cheeks. And just then, we reach a dimly lit part of the house. There he finally turns to face me. And the first thing I notice is his eyes. They look mutated. An eerie mad glint has replaced his tender gaze. I shudder. This version of him is an absolute shock to behold. Everything seems too quick for me to process after that. At some point, he pins me to the wall, takes out an axe and aims it at me. My thinking misty, I act on the adrenaline.
My heart is thumping frantically against my ribs as I desperately search for an escape….
I wake up to find myself sweating and shivering at once. My head feels like it has landed on millions of pins and needles. My heart beat is far from slowing down and I understand why people claim that fear is the best laxative. But I feel too weak to even lift a finger. I can vaguely make out Jimmy snoring lightly beside me. I want to ask him to hug me tightly but I am under. Deeply this time…
II.
I am standing across our home. I slowly move forward trying to make sense of what is going on. Sirens are wailing. Three to four cars are parked in our front yard. Police cars. The door is wide open and I can hear indistinct voices inside. They have blocked the door with a broad yellow tape with ‘Crime Scene’ inked on it but I manage to pass in, unnoticed.
A group of Forensics is brushing off the surfaces leading to our bedroom. And I am suddenly aware of my hands shaking. They have turned clammy. Just then, a large man with a grumpy face and an air of authority steps out of the bedroom. One look at him and I decide that I do not like him. But it is what he says that makes me hate him-even though nothing he says is making any sense to me.
“People, toss that limb back to the body and cover it!” The verb he uses- toss is horrible in its simplicity. Children toss balls… and he is asking someone to toss a… limb… I wipe my hands in my night gown as I enter…
I clutch the table for support as I feel the nausea kicking in. Horror curdles in my stomach. On our bed is a distorted body, covered with white cloth up to the neck. And what must have once been a head looks nothing more than a big lump of minced meat now… I let out a shriek and realise for the first time that no one seems to notice me...
I attempt to call a woman with a sorry expression on her face but a young man entering with our coffee mugs catches my attention. Right after him the grumpy man enters too. I learn he is called Detective Lector. “So what do we have here?” Detective Lector asks the young man. “Sir, the tests show that one of the coffee mugs had a lethal dose of Cannabis; drug that induces sleep.” “Humphrey, I think I know what Cannabis is. Thank you very much,” said Detective Lector, “and only one of the coffee mugs… What do you think this means?” Humphrey looks practically embarrassed and quickly answers, “Sorry Sir” and adds, “I think this is why the victim, Alex Destiny, had an easy death; she was unconscious throughout the act.” Someone says, “Poor girl…. To be married to a psychopath…” My head is reeling. I do not think I can bear this nonsense anymore but the one named Humphrey is still talking, “And Sir, her blood tests show that she had been taking Cannabis for two years now. In a moderate amount though.” “Given.” corrects Lector….
And I smile. Of course…of course it is just another nightmare, isn’t it? Surely, I’ll wake up anytime now with a start and everything will be fine. But to have nightmares two times in a row at the same night… this is too much! I should not have slept after that first wretched nightmare! My Jimmy… a psychopath? I feel guilty even though I know that dreams cannot be controlled. I slowly move towards the bed and lie beside the corpse with eyes tightly shut. But the voices do not seem to fade away………
“Jimmy, put me down!” I protest with a giggle as he carries me down the stairs. He manages to carry the empty coffee mugs too making it even more urgent for me to ask him to put me down. “I’m a strong man you know,” he replies faking a hurt face. I laugh and repeat, “Of course. A strong man.” “Why. You doubt it, girl?” he mimics a villain’s angry voice and drawls, “Maybee then I’ll just let go of you and take pleeeasure in watching you tumble down the stairs slooowly and hit the wall as your faaace turns riiich crimson with warm blooood…” I fake a disgusted face and snap, “Mr Villain, stop being so morbid!” and at this both of us laugh….
Hello! This is Alex Destiny. Jimmy is my husband and I am his oasis in the desert. But I guess you already know how much in love we are so I’ll just skip that part. (Laugh) Other things that you should know about me: I have been happily married for two years now. I majored in Human Psychology and know my job pretty well but then I am a homebody through and through. So you will find me-At home. And…I have a knack for attracting nightmares... They come to me in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they haunt me for days but I live through it. After all, I have Jimmy! (Smile)
I.
The ache in the upper midsection of my body is so profound; each atom there must be sizzling in some very concentrated acid. To breathe love, eat love and talk love is to live in the realm of fantasy and this right now is my reality check.“Jimmy, you want to live here”, I mumble. Unsure if I mean it as a question or a statement. In front of me stands a two-storey house which can be best described as haunted- Ivy creeps through its dull walls giving it a chilly décor and hungry eyes seem to be glaring at you from those many dark windows but it’s wide open door is the most unnerving sight of all. It looks like the trapdoor to hell; tempting you to enter it…never to open again.
Jimmy starts for the door never answering my query. I want to tell him to not to enter the house but it’s already too late. So instead I try to dial down the empty feeling and follow him.
The house is completely dark. All I can do is go after Jimmy’s footsteps. With each step taken, the place seems to turn even creepier. “Jimmy, how do you plan on surviving this place?” I blurt out when that is the last question I want answered. Silence.
I try to swallow the drastically forming lump in my neck but as much as I wish they would not, tears dribble down my cheeks. And just then, we reach a dimly lit part of the house. There he finally turns to face me. And the first thing I notice is his eyes. They look mutated. An eerie mad glint has replaced his tender gaze. I shudder. This version of him is an absolute shock to behold. Everything seems too quick for me to process after that. At some point, he pins me to the wall, takes out an axe and aims it at me. My thinking misty, I act on the adrenaline.
My heart is thumping frantically against my ribs as I desperately search for an escape….
I wake up to find myself sweating and shivering at once. My head feels like it has landed on millions of pins and needles. My heart beat is far from slowing down and I understand why people claim that fear is the best laxative. But I feel too weak to even lift a finger. I can vaguely make out Jimmy snoring lightly beside me. I want to ask him to hug me tightly but I am under. Deeply this time…
II.
I am standing across our home. I slowly move forward trying to make sense of what is going on. Sirens are wailing. Three to four cars are parked in our front yard. Police cars. The door is wide open and I can hear indistinct voices inside. They have blocked the door with a broad yellow tape with ‘Crime Scene’ inked on it but I manage to pass in, unnoticed.
A group of Forensics is brushing off the surfaces leading to our bedroom. And I am suddenly aware of my hands shaking. They have turned clammy. Just then, a large man with a grumpy face and an air of authority steps out of the bedroom. One look at him and I decide that I do not like him. But it is what he says that makes me hate him-even though nothing he says is making any sense to me.
“People, toss that limb back to the body and cover it!” The verb he uses- toss is horrible in its simplicity. Children toss balls… and he is asking someone to toss a… limb… I wipe my hands in my night gown as I enter…
I clutch the table for support as I feel the nausea kicking in. Horror curdles in my stomach. On our bed is a distorted body, covered with white cloth up to the neck. And what must have once been a head looks nothing more than a big lump of minced meat now… I let out a shriek and realise for the first time that no one seems to notice me...
I attempt to call a woman with a sorry expression on her face but a young man entering with our coffee mugs catches my attention. Right after him the grumpy man enters too. I learn he is called Detective Lector. “So what do we have here?” Detective Lector asks the young man. “Sir, the tests show that one of the coffee mugs had a lethal dose of Cannabis; drug that induces sleep.” “Humphrey, I think I know what Cannabis is. Thank you very much,” said Detective Lector, “and only one of the coffee mugs… What do you think this means?” Humphrey looks practically embarrassed and quickly answers, “Sorry Sir” and adds, “I think this is why the victim, Alex Destiny, had an easy death; she was unconscious throughout the act.” Someone says, “Poor girl…. To be married to a psychopath…” My head is reeling. I do not think I can bear this nonsense anymore but the one named Humphrey is still talking, “And Sir, her blood tests show that she had been taking Cannabis for two years now. In a moderate amount though.” “Given.” corrects Lector….
And I smile. Of course…of course it is just another nightmare, isn’t it? Surely, I’ll wake up anytime now with a start and everything will be fine. But to have nightmares two times in a row at the same night… this is too much! I should not have slept after that first wretched nightmare! My Jimmy… a psychopath? I feel guilty even though I know that dreams cannot be controlled. I slowly move towards the bed and lie beside the corpse with eyes tightly shut. But the voices do not seem to fade away………
- Dilasa Shrestha
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