The Last Meal

The eyes bore down on him without emotion, oh yes, no emotion, she had lost it all. He took it all away from her and now, she was unfeeling. She gave him no inkling of what she had in mind but had been planning for long. Her face was a constant reminder of what she had to bear for the past few years, but not anymore. She had done her chores, the little cottage clean and tidy, and the laundry drying out on the line as they swayed gently in the wind. The wooden floor bore a new shine, freshly waxed and the house smelt nice. Each time she unclad to bathe, the discoloration on her skin coupled with the welts grimaced at her in the mirror and their intimacy, well, was an assault, literally. Going into the woods, she had collected the ingredients and was sure to wash her hands thoroughly on getting home. Hair well brushed and gently flowing, she sat and waited as she looked at the time piece, “in a short while now”, she thought to herself. The sound of trudging boots approached and then the door bursts open. She does not get up to meet him and he looked at her with disdain. Dirt trailed his steps across the polished floor, leaving mosaics, filthy mosaics. He looked at the set table as he passed to go to wash his hands at the basin.

As he sat at the table, he looked across to her not inviting her to join him. He starts to eat, chewing slowly and there was silence, silence until he begins to sputter. The deadly cocktail of poisons and toxins prepared in his honor and absorbed through the linings of his mouth had become active. He reached out for water but he half makes it, as his heart begins to hammer in his chest ensuring adequate circulation. He begins to foam at the mouth as he clutches his throat and struggles to stand, but falls backwards starring at her as he went. She walked up to him and looks down as he reached out to her for help, but none is forth coming. She stood as still as a corpse. Though he was heavy, she managed, and as she rolled him into the shallow grave it began to rain. She raised her head and embraced the shower, as the thought of how her life was about to start anew.