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It took Janine a couple minutes to recover
from the shock but as soon as she realized she was still standing in fromt
of the open window she slammed the curtains shut. But not before she saw
the woman look up, directly at her, and nod. When she thought about what
she had just seen, she became hysterical. Now, Janine had never been a
very controlled person, but this was worse, worse than any fit she had
ever been through. For three hours straight she cried. But after awhile
she figured out what she had to do. From the way the woman had looked
at her, Janine knew that the woman was going to come and kill her to.
. She felt like the man who knew too much. She had nowhere to run and
nowhere to hide, so she decided to cut all her contacts to the outside
world. She closed all the windows and pulled the blinds tightly closed,
she locked her door, and unplugged all her electrical devices, including
her phone. By this time she was completely wacko, insane, crazy, paranoid,
cuckoo, whatever you want to call it, that was what she was. She threw
out all of her food (in case it was poisoned) and vowed not to drink one
drop of tap water.
For two days she went on like this. By
nightfall of the second day she was completely incapacitated. She ached
from the tips of her raggedly gnawed on fingernails to her very soul.
Her heartbeat seemed impossibly loud. With each beat she could feel her
heart bang against her chest. At first it had just been a dull ache but
now it had worsened to a sharp, burning, pain that no matter how tightly
she curled herself, she could not lessen. She could feel the powerful
acids that her liver continued to manufacture burning at her stomach lining.
She had a throbbing headache that reminded her of Athena emerging from
Zeus’ skull. Her throat had that same feeling that you would experience
if you had a sandblaster stuck in your windpipe. Each breath she took
rasped against the dried, inflamed, and oversensitive tissue.
|
 |
MFor two days she went on like this. By
nightfall of the second day she was completely incapacitated. She ached
from the tips of her raggedly gnawed on fingernails to her very soul.
Her heartbeat seemed impossibly loud. With each beat she could feel her
heart bang against her chest. At first it had just been a dull ache but
now it had worsened to a sharp, burning, pain that no matter how tightly
she curled herself, she could not lessen. She could feel the powerful
acids that her liver continued to manufacture burning at her stomach lining.
She had a throbbing headache that reminded her of Athena emerging from
Zeus’ skull. Her throat had that same feeling that you would experience
if you had a sandblaster stuck in your windpipe. Each breath she took
rasped against the dried, inflamed, and oversensitive tissue.
Meanwhile, her friends were getting worried
about her. At work, when she didn’t show up they were concerned,
but only one thought that something was truly wrong. Jimena Milner was
thought of as a worrier and as somebody who tended to overreact. When
she really did have a bad feeling about the situation, no one really listened.
hrrorg in horror from the gruesome specters she saw when she heard a
voice.
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Jimena tried calling Janine
several times before she realized that the phone was off the hook (she was
also known for not being too quick on the up take). It was late that night
when she finally gave up trying to call. Thinking there wasn’t anything
else she could do, she went to bed. That night she dreamed. There was a
normal window placed in the middle of a blank wall. But above the window
was a neon sign that just flashed the word ‘LIE’ over and over.
Through the window were many things. But all of the things it showed were
disgusting, they seemed wrong for some reason, like they weren’t true.
There were dead bodies, horribly disfigured people, and other such horrors.
She was recoiling in horror from the gruesome specters she saw when she
heard a voice.
“Hey lady, geesh! How slow can you be? I’ve practically spelled
out this dumb message for you. You gonna trust the window and end up like
your friend or are you gonna use what few brains you got? Well, your choice.” |
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And suddenly she understood.
She looked down to see that she was clutching an ice pick in her left hand;
and then in one swift motion she brought it up to her left eye, in and out.
Then she quickly repeated the motion on her right eye. The pain was so real,
unexpected, and sharp that at first she thought she misread the message
but soon the pain faded and she could see again. But now, the room had changed.
The wall that had been blank before was now covered with pictures, paintings,
and newspaper clippings. All of them were bright, joyous and full of color.
She stepped closer to examine the newspaper headlines; Man Saves Family
From Burning Building, Child With AIDS Miraculously Recovers, and High School
Completes Reforestation Project. She then looked at the pictures. They were
all of children playing, people hugging, and beautiful nature scenes. The
paintings were also bright and uplifting. She could even hear the Ode To
Joy playing softly in the background. She looked at the window and was surprised
to find that it had changed to a mirror. But in this mirror, instead of
seeing, as usual, her slightly drooping breasts and pudgy stomach, she saw
something beautiful. In the mirror she saw all the good qualities, the happiness,
supportiveness, and kindness that other people saw not only when they looked
into her laughing eyes, but when they spoke to her and heard what was really
on her mind and in her heart. |
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When she woke she felt a strange
sense of peace and awakening, as if, though she had woken up in that same
bed a million times, only that morning had she finally truly awoken. But
then she remembered Janine. She splashed some cold water on her face, destroying
any lingering feelings of serenity, brushed her teeth and pulled on a pair
jeans and a black t-shirt before grabbing her purse and jumping into her
car. She arrived at Janine’s at around ten thirty. When she reached
the apartment building she ran up to Janine’s apartment and hit the
doorbell. When no one answered she hit a couple more times before giving
up and pounding on the door.
She screamed at the door,” Janine! Open up, it’s Jimena. Please
open up!” |
For a few minutes she didn’t
get an answer but then she heard a very faint, but audible nonetheless,
groan. Jimena pounded on the door and shouted at Janine but she couldn’t
get her to open the door. Jimena did the one thing that she knew how to
do in a catastrophe. Called the cops. Unfortunately due to lunchtime traffic
jams, they didn’t get to the apartment until five o’clock. For
about ten minutes they tried to get her to open the door. But, they soon
lost their patience and just busted down the door. The medics burst in but
it was too late. Janine was dead. Her skin seemed to hug her bones, and
there was a putrid scent in the air. For some reason Jimena wasn’t
worried. Throughout the funeral, everyone was crying but Jimena just sat
there with a thoughtful expression on her face. Her primary emotion that
she wanted to release was her sorrow. She wanted to weep and screech. She
wanted to wail out like they used to do at funerals. But another part of
her held it back. She realized the gift that her friend had left with her
and she didn’t want to ruin it. So she bit her grief back, and accepted
that like the song says, whatever will be, will be.
For those who are wondering right now about the murder in the beginning.
You’re probably asking, was the killer caught? The answer is no. It
wasn’t a murder in the first place. The woman was an undercover cop
and the man was a notorious drug dealer. Now do you get the LIE thing? |
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