Fragmented Window

Maggie looked out the window and down at the street; a car had just pulled up to the curb. The driver got out and Mags walked back into the kitchenette, placing the .44 on the stove. She grabbed a cup off the shelf and poured herself a coffee. The mug itself was old and chipped, the handle looked like it had been glued in place. 

She reached inside the fridge and took out the creamer. The room sat in total silence, except for the gurgle of the coffee pot every now and then. She went to the living room and selected a vinyl album from the shelf, put it on the turntable. She could hear the little pocks and hiss from the stereo. To her it sounded truer than the digitally processed music of today. The coffee in her hands was like a soothing nectar.

She lit a few candles; they began casting their flickering light, creating the proper atmosphere. Three candles lit, should set the proper mood, then she reached for a basket filled with rose petals and scattered them on the floor before the doorway. She spritzed the air around with a perfume. She stepped back into the kitchenette as the door was being unlocked.


The door swung open and the man paused a second. He leaned back and checked the door again and smiled. He stepped into the apartment, placing the briefcase on the floor. He heard the music, and he saw the petals and he called out, "Honey, you shouldn't have."

He stepped forward. Maggie stepped out, the .44 spoke her reply, the two slugs caught the man in the forehead, splitting his skull like a melon. He fell with a sickening thud to the ground. Maggie holstered the gun and put on a surgical glove; she squatted down beside the body.

She felt around inside the wound and said, "Come on, Mardi."

From the goo of the grey matter, a small bug like creature emerged. "There you are." Maggie reached down with a glass jar and scooped the alien-like creature into it. She brought it up to her eyes.

The mark had been dead for the past 15 years, and was only alive because of this creature.

"Damn," Mardi said. "It had to be you."

"Yeah," she replied. "Been looking for you for a long, long time. You know you can run but you can never hide."

"Yeah, yeah," the little bug said, pressed up against the jar. "Damn, I was so close... so close..."

"Maybe next time," Maggie said. She stood up and walked to the door; she took a sip from the coffee mug and placed it down on the table.