God Only Knows

God Only Knows by The Beach Boys begins to drift softly from an old Bakelite radio, sitting pristinely on the kitchen windowsill.

A woman hums along as she fries eggs, the man’s bloodcurdling screams from the cellar below a grotesque counterpoint to the contentment on her face.

What isn’t a contrast is the blood spattered across her skin, delicately dotting the front of her vest. Small pieces of flayed skin still cling to her trousers.

“God only knows what I’d be without you,” she sings, flipping the eggs in time with the song.

The kettle boils.

The toaster hums.

The screams grow louder.

But the woman is so absorbed in the simple task before her that she appears entirely unperturbed.

“Pop!”

The toast springs up.

She walks to the fridge, still humming cheerfully, and retrieves the milk and butter. When she closes the door, a bloody handprint remains smeared across its pristine white surface.

“If you should ever leave me, well, life would still go on, believe me.”

She spreads butter across the toast and gently flips the eggs onto them.

Then she makes herself a cup of tea.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!”

The words rise clearly from the cellar.

She doesn’t even look towards the door.

Instead, she picks up her mug and walks to the window, happily observing the quiet world outside.

“God only knows what I’d be without you..”