I shouldn’t have been there. Wrong time. Wrong place. It was all wrong.
I wanted to see him. It was getting late, the university was going to close soon. I wanted to surprise him- his last class was in the lab today. It was March 10th, a Thursday. The rain fell harder than it ever had this year. I could hear the rain pounding on the glass. It was freezing out there. Flashes of lightning and crashing thunder rang in my ears, as dark clouds occupied the pitch-black sky. The university was darker than usual too- I had never seen it look so lifeless. I was hoping to find him, ask him to share an umbrella as I had conveniently forgotten mine.
The body clung to the floor. Laying in a pool of blood face down. The one who had done this didn’t clean up that well. I saw his blonde hair pulled out in patches, his arm had also been removed and his pale white skin started to turn grey. I had felt nothing at this time. Empty. Was it shock? Probably. I turned the dead carcass over and was met with more blood, skin, muscle and bones. His eyes were gone- both of them. His sockets looked so empty and bottomless, well except for two veins dangling from those endless voids. His tongue and teeth were missing too, dried blood clung to his chapped lips. I could see his missing arm better now, it was his left. It looked as if someone had sawed it off. The cut wasn’t smooth, chunks were left behind. His clothes stuck tightly to him, except for his chest that was gaping. I saw his ribs cracked open. His heart was gone- well honestly everything was. He was empty. His empty carcass was bare as it contained no organs, his blood trickled from the sides and settled to the bottom of his mushy hollow body. I guess the one who had done this didn’t want the ribs, though two of them were missing. I glanced towards his legs, they were fine. I steadily ran my eyes towards his head. I had seen the patches of hair missing from his backside- but I purposely missed his skull. It was brutal. His brain was gone. I got to know after I carefully slipped off the man’s skull. The one who had done this had cut a perfect circle around his head, and put his skull back on as a hat. I wished I never touched it though- it was surprisingly light as it dangled from the clump of hair I had picked up.
I was now back at my dorm, and to be frank with you, I didn’t know what to do.
I heard a knock on the door. A sweet voice began to fill the room. I was getting really cold. Was I still in shock?
I hadn’t realized it- but I was actually standing in the middle of my living room. I noticed this fact once I felt his cold hands wrap around me. His head rested against mine as he spoke sweet melodies in my ear. I wasn’t listening. His chest felt warm on my back- but his hands were so cold.
I guess he heard my heart pounding. He quickly turned me around and held me in a warmer embrace. I could hear his heartbeat. I was able to hear his voice again. Only fragments though- something about being okay? If I wanted some tea? He wore a cozy navy blue hoodie. Blue was his best colour. It always complemented his ivory skin and thick charcoal hair. Did I respond to him yet? Probably not- his head still rested on top of mine and his grip had gotten tighter. I felt his slender fingers run through my hair. I guess he was trying to calm me. But his hands were just so cold. Were they always like that? I felt tears swell in my eyes. I hugged him back, pulling his chest closer to me. My tears started dropping one by one, his navy hoodie started absorbing them. Did he mind? I hope he didn’t, I wouldn’t want my tears ruining his favorite hoodie- though the tear stains didn’t show as much as the blood did. My throat felt as if it was closing; my heart pounded so hard in my chest that it suffocated me. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. Tears spilled- I couldn’t control it anymore. I broke down in his arms. I felt dizzy. I couldn’t think.
I shouldn’t have witnessed it.
I shouldn’t have seen him do it.
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Hey Amulya,
Woah, I was not expecting that. Well I mean I should have with the title and the tags for this short story being murder and romance, but the second paragraph really threw me off. I applaud you for your gory description of the body, or what was left of it. To be honest, as soon as I read that first line, “The body clung to the floor. Laying in a pool of blood face down.” I hesitated to read the rest but I went on and was quickly intrigued. I liked how the neutral, calm, and almost amused tone the character uses to describe what she saw reinforces the fact that she felt emotionally numb. It had a greater impact on me as a reader because I was definitely feeling the opposite. As soon as I saw the use and repetition of the word “cold” my mind just went “oh no, please no”- that was a great motif/symbol choice. I also really liked the way the last two lines brought everything together with the character’s unbearable truth and tied back to the opening lines as well. Just for improvement, I would go through your writing or have someone peer edit and look out for any small punctuation or grammatical errors, again there were only a few that I found that didn’t really disrupt your overall piece. This was such a good piece Amulya!
Sincerely,
Sarah