He stood at the door of his room, watching her fade into a ghostly white, she was lying on the floor of his room – motionless. Her head in a spill of blood – aimlessly watching the ceiling. Blood bubbled out of a sharp wound in her neck as she breathed. He walked and sat beside her. Cushioning his arms under her head and bringing it to rest on his lap. He moved the hair locks covering her face while palming her pale cheeks. She seemed calm, gushing blood on him apart.
He uttered, “Jeannie?”, breaking the silence.
Her eyes alone moved in an instantaneous response – now looking into his. And then, he saw – Like a blob of wax melting away, her pupil dilating – while his eyes searching in hers for a last look, as it slipped away into an abyss of lifelessness.
“Why so serious Jeannie?”, he said talking to her.
“Jeannie?”
“Look Jeannie I am smiling”, mocking a smile.
“Why so serious? Smile with me Jeanie…Smile!”, and forced her lips to smile, and watched them retract. He did it again.
“Smile. No smile. Smile. No smile. Smile. No smile.”, and he paused.
“Jeannie!”, pointing at her, “You look funny!”, laughing at her blood stained cheeks.
“Aah…now, now, now… lets put a smile on that face.” he said, sounding pleased. He pointed out his finger, wet it with the blood on the floor and retraced the stain marks on her cheeks into a smile.
“There now – that’s a happy family. You – smiling, me – smiling.”
“NO Jeannie, I am smiling! Look!”
“You are right Jeannie, you are always right. I don’t look as funny as you. You – funny. Me – not funny. Not a funny family huh?”
“Why so serious Jack?”, he said while trying to sound in a woman’s voice. Smiling like her, breaking into a sigh.
“Now, lets put a smile on my face”, all enthused he held her hand, folded all but one finger, wet it in blood, and forced it onto his face and moved his head.
“There you go. We are a funny family now Jeannie. A happy funny family. You and me. And the baby.”, he said palming her dead face in a quaint affection.
The sirens were nearing.
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More curious.
No doubt Jack’s complains are valid (ipso facto). But he shouldn’t have married.
And why did he not divorce his wife? His wife is trying to make him cheerful, by whatever means she knows. If he is troubled, he should tell his wife to stop. He should tell his wife that he doesn’t want a kid, maybe she would have agreed.
And, on top of it, we don’t know if Jack’s wife was as frustrated as him. Maybe she was happy? If Jack had died, maybe she would have married another man, and lived happily ever after.
The story tells that his wife kept him nagging “to smile”. Did a government-compulsory-marriage-bureau set them up together, and they can never part now?
Perhaps the story is “powerful” (which is always welcome), but I am too disgusted with Jack to care to look deeper into it.
—
Death surely is a fascinating theme. Check the story of John von Neumann’s death here. http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Von_Neumann.html
… his mind, the amulet on which he had always been able to rely, was becoming less dependable. Then came complete psychological breakdown; panic, screams of uncontrollable terror every night. His friend Edward Teller said, “I think that von Neumann suffered more when his mind would no longer function, than I have ever seen any human being suffer.”
von Neumann would have understood life as _it is_. “If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is.”
Author says: “How do you know it is Jack who killed his wife?”
Author’s comment is valid. I should have saved my preaching for a later time.
Disturbing and very visual …nicely done! Like the way you built the foundation of your character …
Disturbing and very visual! Nicely done. Like the way you built the foundation of your character…