Lydia literally felt the muscles in her chest relax during her walks through the hiking trails. She tried to time them for the beginning of the day before the sun’s rays were too hot. She found her walks therapeutic and helped to keep her stress level at bay.
Lydia paused for a moment at a bird feeding station and watched a female cardinal pecking at some seeds. It was worth fighting with her husband over, to feel this soothing calm that would begin to spread through her whole body. Her husband warned her that no good could come to a tiny woman like her being alone in the woods.
Lydia continued walking down the Greystone Trail and heard a rustle ahead in the bushes. She rattled the keys in her left pocket and smiled as two tiny chipmunks ran across her path. She headed onto the boardwalk over the marshes, and tried to get the fight with her husband last night out of her mind. This was her favourite part of her daily walk where she could sometimes see some orioles or red winged blackbirds when she sat down on the rustic bench and looked upward to feel the sun warm her face.
Lydia felt the full force of a man’s hand reach up from the marsh below and lock onto her ankle like a steel trap. As she fell hard from the bench onto the planks of the boardwalk Lydia could hear herself scream like a wounded animal.
She tried to kick her foot, but by now he had both of her ankles and was pulling her off of the boardwalk into the bulrushes below. Lydia saw the man whose face was covered by a black mask. She instinctively reached into her right pocket and pulled out her husband’s fishing knife she carried with her whenever she was alone on her walk. Lydia had always thought she was safe on the trails, but her husband’s fears had started to make her question if she was being naïve.
She plunged the knife into the man’s chest and was instantly covered in spurting blood. He moaned and his knees dropped down in deep mud. Lydia started to climb back up onto the boardwalk when she heard the man’s voice begging for help.
Lydia froze. She recognized the voice of her husband of seven years instantly. She stood towering over him now safely on the boardwalk. She watched while his body went still.
Lydia ran to the creek ahead and washed the blood off of her trembling body. She began to run back to the road and told herself she would be home soon.
Lydia felt a cold shiver go through her that made her slow her pace. She smiled when she thought of the feast all of her wildlife friends would find under the boardwalk tonight.
Lydia took a deep breath. This walk had completely taken away her stress.
© 2009 Elizabeth Crockett
Elizabeth writes short fiction, poetry and haiku. She has been published or has work forthcoming in Spotlight on Recovery magazine, Shamrock haiku journal, Ascent Aspirations, Roadrunner haiku journal, Flashshot, RKVRY online journal, Every Day Fiction, Midnight Times, Word Riot and more.
August 15th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Uh, thanks for the warning. I won’t be taking any walks with this chick. Great story. I like how calm she is through it all.
August 15th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Well written, well thought out story. Good work, Elizabeth!
August 15th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
…that’ll teach him for trying to teach her!
Good story, Elizabeth. Great voice and flow.
–dj
August 15th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Thank you for the kind words. And thanks for my laugh for the day, Angel and dj.
Elizabeth