The Professor’s Wife (Flash Fiction Part 9)

This is the 9th part of the story. The previous parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

At length, Alotus comes back to the living room. What will she do next? She can call the police and turn herself in. It is an accident and it will not be counted as a first degree murder although her mother-in-law may testify to the contrary. Well…what else? She can take the kids, fly across the Pacific, and disappear into a jungle in Southeast Asia. She went to the island of Java for a school project one summer and loved the pristine environment there. She can go there, which is a much better option than living in a New Jersey jail to sleep next to a drug dealer or a mentally impaired homeless lady who had deliberately attacked somebody so that she could end up in prison, where at least she has a roof above her.

She calls her travel agent Shali and orders three tickets for the following day. She will send her mother-in-law to the local library first thing in the morning to meet her senior buddies. Then she and her children will drive to the Newark Airport and fly away.

“You sound so agitated. What’s going on? Three tickets for tomorrow? That’s really expensive. Are you sure you want that? Do you want me to come over? Something must have happened.” Shali says on the phone.

“Nothing has happened. Don’t come over. Just order my tickets and here is my credit card info.” Alotus says and ends the phone call.

She sits on the sofa, not knowing what to do. She needs to pack, but she feels too exhausted. Then she heard the sound of a car screeching to a halt in the drive way, followed by a banging on the door.

“Alotus, are you there? Open the door. It’s Shali here. Alotus.”

Alotus heard the sound, but she is too tired to get up. Shali can’t get in through the door. So she tries the window and climbs in. She comes to the sofa and starts to shake Alotus violently.

Alotus finally wakes up. When she opens her eyes, she sees Daneu standing there, pushing her shoulders and trying to wake her up. He is not dead. It’s just a dream. There’s no fatal accident, no airplane tickets, no travel agent.

“Where did you place the tennis rackets. I can’t find them.” He says.

“I had a dream. A nightmare really. I pushed you down the basement stairs and you are dead.” Alotus says, feeling very guilty.

“OK. Now can you find the tennis rackets for me?” He insists.

“OK? What do you mean? OK? I killed you. You don’t care? Just OK?” Her voice starts to rise.

“Well, it’s a dream. So what? Strange things happen in dreams. Now please get my tennis rackets.” He says.

“Strange things? But you don’t feel it is strange, do you? You are not surprised even. How come? Wait a minute. Have you dreamed of killing me? Oh, my goodness. You must have dreamed of killing me, which is why you are not surprised at all that I dreamed of killing you. And shouldn’t you tell me about your dreams? You never share. That’s your problem. Now confess. Have you dreamed of killing me?” Alotus says loudly.

“Give me a break. Stop getting upset over nothing. Now just go to get my tennis rackets.” He says calmly and contemptuously.

She stands up and walks towards his home office. He follows her and asks where she is going. She refuses to reply. When she reaches his desk, she starts to skim the titles of his paper and open his notebooks.

“What are you doing?” He asks her anxiously, “don’t mess up my papers. I need those notes.”

“What am I doing? That’s a question I want to ask you. What are you doing here? Are you working on an theorem of killing me? Are you researching for ways to kill me efficiently? Are these notations for a murder algorithm?” Alotus screams and starts to tear the papers.

“You are a crazy woman. I don’t know how to deal with you anymore. I don’t understand why I become the bad guy here. It is so unfair. I mean it is you who thinks of killing me, right? I am the victim here. You make it look like I am the bully, but I am not. What did I do?” Daneu says and looks very confused.

(The End)

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