Winter

This was a very big day for Haru Onda. He had been working up the nerve to do this for months. There was always a part of him that kept him from doing so, but enough was finally enough. Today was the day Haru was visiting his lawyer and filling out the necessary paperwork to file for the divorce he so desperately desired.

Haru believed he deserved far better than Miyuki. He worked tirelessly to provide for her, while all she did was lie around the house. The two had been drifting apart for some time now and only barely could he stomach his wife’s presence. Haru knew he was in the prime of his life and would have no problem starting over with another woman, a better woman, one who would be grateful to have such a wonderful man.

The excitement Haru had been feeling was quickly washed away, however, when he arrived at his lawyer’s office. A most disheartening scene was playing out before his very eyes. Haru watched as his wife, Miyuki, entered their lawyer’s office. The size of the smile on her face created a jabbing pain in the pit of Haru’s stomach.

Haru did his best to contain his rage on the drive home. The day had already turned out to be a bad one and he didn’t need to add to it by getting into an accident. And to make matters worse, he had to make a call to the other woman in his life and break the bad news.

“You were right,” said Haru. “I shouldn’t have waited so long. She went to see our lawyer behind my back. Who does that bitch think she is!”

“You need to calm down,” said the woman on the other end. “There are always other ways to get what you want.”

“You don’t understand,” said Haru. “She’s going to take everything. I worked my whole life for what I have and she’s just going to take it all away from me.” The anger that had just been so prevalent quickly turned to sorrow. “I just want to be with you. You’re the only thing that makes me happy. Even without my money, we can still be together.”

“We need that money,” said the woman. “If we want to start a life together, we’re going to need money. Do you understand me?”

“My lawyer, he never loses,” said Haru. “Once he gets started, he doesn’t stop until he’s won. That’s why I needed to get to him first, so he would be on my side. Now that lazy dog has him on hers. I won’t stand a chance against her now.”

“It sounds like you have no other choice now,” said the woman.

“What do you mean?” asked Haru.

“You know exactly what I mean. You have to kill your wife.”

“What?” asked Haru, who was sure he had heard his mistress correctly, but he had to make sure he had actually heard that word come out of her mouth.

“I said you have to kill her. The only way you’re going to keep your money is if she’s gone. It’s too late to go through the proper channels now. You waited too long. So now we have no other choice. In all honesty, this is the plan I wanted to go with all along. I just didn’t think you’d have the stomach to go through with it. But now your back’s up against the wall. This really is the only option that we have left, Haru.”

“I can’t do that,” said Haru.

“Why not?” asked the woman. “You’re always telling me how much you hate her. And how things would be better if she just disappeared.”

“But what if I’m caught?” asked Haru. “I’ll hang for sure.”

“Not if people don’t know that she’s dead,” said the woman. “If there’s no body, then there’s no crime. Take her out to the woods. Deep into the woods. Do it there. If they ever do find her body, the animals will have picked it clean. You can just tell the police that she went out on her own and never came back.”

“I don’t know if I can do that,” said Haru.

“You love me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“You want to be with me, don’t you?”

“I do,” replied Haru.

“Then do this for me. It’s the only way. She deserves it. She’s always making you feel like a fool. Once it’s over, we can be together. All you have to do is kill her.”