Tammy is in her bedroom telling each stuffed animal good night as she readies for her bedtime story. She doesn’t remember her Daddy tucking her in and singing her songs. She’s forgotten about hearing the screams in the night from the kitchen below her room.
Billy is in the bathroom brushing his teeth with the care of an automated car wash as he daydreams of sport victories yet to come and guitar solos still to perform. His anger and fear are dulled down from time and his grades are continuing a gradual improvement back to normal.
Jennifer is in the kitchen cleaning up the mess from dinner, just another mess to tackle and resolve but one far less complex and troubling than messes from the past. She is still wary but feels that she’s gotten away cleanly and can move forward with her new life.
Thomas is relaxed on the sofa watching the football game, unaware of any past worries having only met Jennifer last summer while sampling the internet dating offerings in the area. He feels grounded and in charge, eager to provide for his newly developed family.
I am with Karl wedged in the tree out in the backyard where the shadows spill the darkest. We are clutching the automatic rifle in our left hand and the binoculars in our right. I am desperately trying to calm Karl’s vengeance and anger down, hoping without hope that he doesn’t shut me out and take charge of the situation his way. Again.
________
©2010 Edmund Welter
Ed Welter writes various genres of fiction. He currently maintains a short story blog called A Tale of Words (http://taleofwords.blogspot.com) and a popular humor blog he writes under the writer’s pseudonym “VE” called VE’s Fantastical Nonsense (http://vehow.blogspot.com)
Tags: Edmund Welter
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:02 pm
Excellent - “We are clutching the automatic in our left hand …” - nearly missed that: very scary.
March 4th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Anyone know how I can bookmark this post to my Facebook page?
March 4th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
For anyone that is interested, you can always join Flashes in the Dark on Networked Blogs to receive our updates automatically:
http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/flashes_in_the_dark/