She Can't Be Back - Z Ali
Adeeb
“Daddy… why are you carrying mommy on your shoulders all the time?”
My son’s question caught me off guard. On my shoulder? Dumbfounded, I stared at his innocent little face. I was preparing him for school early in the morning as it was almost time for his school bus to arrive. But his question made my heart plummet to my stomach.
When I didn’t reply, he shrugged his shoulders and ran towards the exit.
“Love you dad! See you after school!” He yelled and ran away.
No! Wait! Stop! Don’t leave me alone in this deserted house.
I started to feel cold as soon as he closed the door behind him. My heart thudded in my chest. I was too scared to move.
Maybe what he said meant nothing. Yeah… nothing.
I tried to calm my volatile heart. It couldn’t wield any value … it shouldn’t. Three days had passed since Ishana died. She died on our bed. I didn’t mean to kill her… it just happened. I guess anger was too much.
She was talking to a man in her work place and I couldn’t tolerate it. I was furious that she wasn’t bothered by my threats. I wanted her to fear me and when she showed no apprehension, I snapped. I wanted to smack some sense into her thick head and hit on her head with a baseball bat. Little did I know that it would kill her. How was I supposed to know that she was so weak?
My rage, however, subsided when she collapsed onto our bed and didn’t move. I knew it was bad when I noticed blood pooling on the mattress beneath her. My anxiety levels skyrocketed. Her skull was broken. My hands were shaking as I anxiously reached out to feel for a pulse or listen for her heartbeat, but neither were present. Nothing could ever bring her back.
I breathed out a breath of despair. I couldn’t bear to have our son witness her in that state.
He would feel terrible about it.
So I buried her corpse deep in the woods and came back before our son got home from school. I was racking my brain for a good reason to give him when he walked through the door.
Perhaps I could tell him that his grandma fell suddenly ill and that she had to leave. I was confident that he would accept my explanation and not raise any objections. He was a good boy. Ishana had done a great job raising him… no, we did a great job raising him. However, when he didn’t question me, I thought I was off the hook. Maybe he felt fine with his mother being away. There, I felt secure. Holy cow, I can’t believe how incorrect I was!
Even after he left, I remained frozen on my spot for a long time, too scared to move. Should I check my reflection? I didn’t notice anything absurd yesterday.
I was still feeling doubtful as I took tentative steps towards the bathroom. It was time for me to take a shower and prepare for work. But after what my son just said, I dreaded going to my room. I feared seeing my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t want to…
“It’s just nothing. She can’t come back.”
Mumbling to myself, I heaved a breath and walked briskly towards the room, stripped, and entered the washroom while ignoring the full-length mirror on my right. Nonetheless, there
was no way I could avoid the mirror right in front of me in the lavatory. As soon as I opened the door, I went rigid.
There, straddling on my shoulders, sat my wife. Though her face was as white as a sheet, I knew it was her. She was still wearing the clothes I buried her in: a leopard printed shirt and a pair of black pants. Dried blood was still on her face and clothes. She stared right at me with her lifeless eyes. She was pale… paler than she usually was. Could this be her ghost?
Did her ghost return to make me pay?
“I am back, honey.”
Her sleazy voice seemed to infiltrate my soul. “Aren’t you happy?” she croaked, wrapping her long, slender fingers around my neck.
“I love you so much that I came back to you. You must be delighted.” Her sick, evil laughter resounded in the bathroom. The palpitations of my heart seemed to resonate with it as I struggled to breathe.
Her grip around my neck tightened. I couldn’t decide what was worse: having her cold fingers wrapped around my neck or the fact that I couldn’t feel her weight on my shoulders. It was like an illusion. A mirage that I couldn’t dismiss. The last thing I heard was the sound of her ghastly laughter that etched into the deepest part of my memory.
I woke up. My eyes darted around the room and I saw that I was still in bed. I couldn’t get the events in the lavatory out of my head. Hasn’t she slain me? I moved my fingers and touched my face. I was real. My heart was beating erratically in my chest. I was still alive. Thankful for the gift of life, I gulped down a breath and laughed to myself.
It was just a nightmare. Maybe I was sleeping the whole time. Yeah, that could be the only explanation.
Pfft. Ghosts. She could never come back. She was gone. Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, I let myself unwind. After I felt better, I sat up and took my phone to check the time.
“Wait, it’s past 2? That’s not right…”
I couldn’t have slept that late.
“Dad! I’m back!”
I heard my son scream at the top of his lungs followed by the door slamming shut. My jaw dropped open. Did he just come back from school? Did I really sleep the entire day? I once again peered at the phone and then at the only window in the room. I was in denial. I wanted to see the rising sun and the light rays filtering through the leaves of the oak tree growing in my backyard.
However, what I saw left me speechless.
I saw her… staring blankly at me from the window with her hollow eyes, not a sign of life on her sallow face.
Pen name: Z Ali
Works on Dreame:
You Rejected Me, Remember? (Now available on Amazon as paperback)
The Warrior’s Abused Mate
In Love With My Best Friend
Luna Kiara
His Lost Lycan Princess
Draco’s Quest
Her Vengeance
The Abandoned Boy
The Second Wife
Redemption of a Queen
Taming the Dragon King
Pen name: Z.Ali
Goodnovel.
Rejected and Forsaken
Only You
Unexpected Love With the Mafia Don
FB group: Zali’s Books
Instagram: authorz.ali
