by Seven Steps
He finished the soup, wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve. His eyes fell closed, a deep frown settling on his face. When he opened them again, he shook himself and focused firmly on the broom across the room.
“Is something wrong?” She asked.
“No. Just...”
She took a deep breath. “Did you see me?” She asked. “Did you see us?”
He nodded slowly, confusion clouding his face.
“What did you see?”
He gently took her hand and placed it on his cheek, his eyes intent on hers.
Her body felt as if it had absorbed his fever.
“This.” He led her to his lips and kissed her.
Her heart pounded. Her world collapsed, zeroed in until there was just them, just this moment in time. She leaned into him, and he pressed the kiss deeper, incinerating every thought and doubt. She wrapped her arms around his waist.
He felt right, brightening up her ordinary world like a shooting star on the darkest of nights.
He took her hand in his, kissed her palm, her wrist.
“Liam,” she whispered.
His breath was warm against her fingers. “How could I forget you, my Ashling?”
Her world turned to fire. Her body tightened. Her lips ached for his to return to them.
“Liam,” she whispered. “Oh how I’ve missed you.”
A scream.
“Ashling!”
The door flung open. Soldiers swarmed into the room like locusts.
“He’s here!” one of them shouted.
“Bring him out.” The order came from outside the door.
Liam struggled to get up from the table. His leg collapsed under his weight when it hit the floor. He crumbled to the ground, screaming in agony.
The soldiers grabbed him under the arms and dragged him out.
“Run, Ashling!”
“Liam!” She threw herself at the officer who held him, fist pounding wildly on his back. “Let him go, you brute!”
A large, calloused hand shoved her to the ground. She hit her head hard against the table and groaned as the pain shot through her body.
She forced herself to rise through the pain, and stumbled out of the cottage. She had to find Bernie. She had to help Liam.
Bernie stood just outside the door, her hands tied behind her back. A red nosed soldier stood guard next to her.
“Let go of my sister!” Ashling screamed.
“Run, Ashling!” Bernie cried.
Another soldier came up from behind and grabbed her. Her arms twisted painfully behind her back. She watched in wide-eyed horror as a torch arched through the air and landed on top of her thatched roof.
“NO!” Ashling screamed.
“This is what happens when you harbor rebel spies,” he growled.
Tears of outrage burned her eyes. My home. My mother’s things. My father’s memories.
The soldier spun her around, until she faced the tall oak tree out back. A rope hung from a low hanging branch. Liam’s head was being forced into it. He precariously balanced one leg on a small stool.
“Liam no!” she cried.
A bearded soldier stood in front of him. The marks on the shoulders of his red coat told of his authority.
“Liam McGunntry, you are called forth on charges of spying and sedition against the crown. This is your last chance. Where is the satchel with the maps?”
Liam spat in the soldier’s face.
“Ireland will never again stand for British rule!”
The soldier wiped at his face, and glared at Liam hatefully.
“Then, before God and the King, you are sentence to execution by hanging.”
Ashling screamed.
Liam’s eyes searched for hers. For a moment time stood still. There was only them, no longer strangers, but souls intertwined for eternity.
“Ashling!” Liam called.
She found no breath to answer. His eyes turned pleading.
“Find me in heaven.”
The Captain kicked out the stool from beneath him. Liam’s body swung wildly, his legs kicking, struggling to find solid ground. His face and neck turned purple as he choked.
Ashling let out a blood-curdling wail before a heavy hand struck the back of her head. The world started to tilt, spin and fade.
Her legs buckled. She fell to her knees.
“No!” Bernie cried. “No! Let me go! Ashling!”
Ashling hit the soft grass, her heart shattered. She wanted to cry, to scream, but her tongue felt like iron in her mouth.
He was gone.
Her head throbbed violently as if it was splitting open.
He was gone.
“Ashling!” Bernie called. “Ashling!”
The sound seemed to come from underwater, like she was drowning. It was all so far away. So distant.
Peace filled the last moment of her consciousness.
In heaven, Liam. In heaven.
With one last, valiant effort, with the last of her breath, she cried out his name, screamed it so that God and the angels could hear who she was meant for. So that they knew that it was Liam. It had always been Liam.
Then…
“Ashling? Ashling, are you okay?”
A voice in her ear. Someone was shaking her.
“Ashling. Ashling, wake up!”
Suddenly alert, Ashling shot up, her body covered in a dripping layer of icy sweat.
Bernie stood beside her, looking annoyed and a little worried.
But no, not Bernie. This woman possessed her sister’s face, but not her clothes. She was dressed in a pink t-shirt and matching pink shorts.
“Are you okay? You were screaming.”
Ashling’s body felt heavy, and oddly detached, as if her body was here, but her mind was someplace far away.
“Bernie?”
“I’m here, babe.” Bernie’s eyes narrowed in concern. “Are you okay?”
Ashling looked around her.
The shelves in her tiny dorm room were heavy with books and magazines. Her laptop was on, the light from the screen glaring brightly. Her phone glowed too.
Confusion made her head ache.
This was real.
This was her life.
It all came back to her in a single, powerful wave.
She was a college student. This was her dorm. Bernie was her roommate. This was real. Her mind screamed at her. This, this is real.
And yet, the other world seemed real too. She still smelled the hay and the grass of her small farm. Felt the warmth of the fire in the hearth. Felt the heat of his eyes as they bore into hers and he sang her name: Ashling.
Bernie shook her head, her eyes glazed with confusion. “Ash, I’m going back to bed. You had a nightmare. Why don’t you get some sleep, hun.”
“It was a dream?”
Bernie nodded.
“But that means that Liam…”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Bernie asked.
Ashling gasped.
Liam.
He was an illusion, never really there at all. And yet, he felt so real.
The room began to spin, the walls pressing in on her. She had to get out. She had to escape. She jumped from her bed, snatched the door open, and ran down the hallway.
“Ashling, where are you going?”
She didn’t reply.
Gone. It’s all gone, her heart told her.
It was never really there, her mind reasoned.
The urge to beat her fist against something, to scream and cry until exhaustion overtook her was strong.
He’s gone.
Head throbbing, she threw open the doors and plopped down on the steps of the dorm. She dropped her head into her hands. The tears came hard and fast in the chilly Spring air, a soft breeze cutting through her powder blue t-shirt and shorts.
Her mind battled with itself as it tried to sort out dream from reality.
It felt so real, she thought. How could he have felt so real?
; A car parked near the door, its lights bouncing off of the windows of the building.
Ashling stood, wrapped her arms around herself, and began to walk as a gaggle of rowdy students jumped from the car. One of them called to her. She didn’t turn around. She picked up her pace as a stronger breeze blew. The cold seemed to touch her soul. Goose bumps ran over her body in prickling waves.
She shook her head, anxious to clear it of the disturbing dream.
The wind blew stronger, and she looked up. She saw it.
The tree, the great oak that killed her beloved.
Sitting with his back against the tree, was a man. His raven hair and midnight eyes were unmistakable.
Her heart pounded, her breath stolen by the impossible vision before her.
It can’t be, she thought. He was just a dream.
She took a tentative step forward.
“Liam?” she whispered.
The breeze carried her small voice to him, depositing the gift into his ears. He turned to her, his eyes growing wide in awe.
“Ashling?”
PLAYTHINGS
A Brief Thriller
They stood in the produce aisle at Brown’s Grocery Store.
Samantha Patterson gave her husband, Guy, a sultry smile. “I’ll meet you by the cereal,” she said. Her gaze roamed over him, from his black curly hair, to the way his lean, six foot tall figure towered over her. Even after ten years together, he still was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on.
Guy pulled her close, his dark eyes warming before he stole a kiss.
She indulged him for a moment before pulling away, looking sheepishly at the clerk behind the customer service desk. The young, pink haired girl glanced at them over electric blue, horn-rimmed glasses before turning her attention back to her cell phone.
“Don’t get lost,” he said, giving her another peck on the lips. “I don’t want to have to come find you.”
She threw her arms over his shoulders, pulling him closer.
“And what if I do?” she purred.
“Well,” he placed his hands on her hips. “I’ll have to punish you.”
One of her eyebrows rose. “And how do you plan on doing that?”
His lips moved close to her ear, “One word. Dishes.”
She jumped back, hitting him playfully on the shoulder.
“All the dishes,” he said with a playful grin.
“You always get me,” she pouted.
He chuckled. “You’re so easy to get.”
In a flash, his face turning serious. All the teasing in his eyes suddenly vanished.
A feeling of painful butterflies burst within Samantha’s gut. She felt as if she were going up a roller coaster. She could almost hear the clicking of the tracks, could feel the anticipation of the drop. Attempting to shake the disturbing feeling, she refocused on her husband. His tense brows and tight mouth didn’t reassure her. In fact, it set her even more on edge.
The mood changed so quickly and unexpectedly that her breath caught in her throat, leaving Samantha reeling. She glanced again at the girl behind the customer service desk. This time, the girl didn’t acknowledge her.
Guy opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, then closed it again.
A beat passed.
Why does this feel like goodbye? Samantha wondered.
When she spoke again, Samantha’s voice came out strangled. “I’ll meet you in the cereal aisle,” she said, her voice soft.
His adams apple bobbed, then he nodded.
An uncomfortable laugh escaped her lips.
“Hey,” she said, her voice a little stronger. “I’ll meet you in the cereal aisle.”
He nodded again, blinking rapidly as if he were trying to clear his vision. “Yeah. Two minutes?”
“Two minutes.”
“Okay.”
She shook her head, wondered what had gotten into them, and walked away, her heart sinking with every step.
Get it together girl.
The feeling of foreboding lingered. Unable to shake it, she tried to turn her attention to the problem at hand. The animal crackers. They had promised their daughter, Emily, that they would have animal crackers when they picked her up from daycare.
Even now, she could hear Emily’s small, high voice ringing in her head.
Not the red ones. The pink ones with the icing.
Samantha smiled. Her daughter inherited her tanned skin and brown eyes from her mother, but her forceful personality and the birthmark on her right shoulder she’d gotten from her father. Together, the three of them formed a tight, happy unit, and Samantha thanked God for her small family each and every day.
The lights overhead flickered as Samantha walked down the aisle. She barely noticed, her attention focused on the missing animal crackers.
Where could they be? Samantha wondered. I could have sworn they were right here last week.
She looked up and down the aisle for someone with a yellow shirt and blue apron who could help her.
The aisle was empty.
Odd for this time of day, she thought. Usually at four in the afternoon the supermarket was packed with mothers trying to get last minute groceries for dinner.
Where is everyone?
The icy fingers of fear slid up her back, and she forced breath in through her nose.
Stop being silly, she chided herself. Just grab something and get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps today.
Picking up the Teddy Grahams, and steeling herself for Emily’s wrath, she marched toward the cereal aisle.
The thought of seeing Guy again buoyed her, and she picked up her pace. Guy was her rock, and the one person she knew who would comfort her against the strange feelings that suddenly terrorized her. His presence would be all the calm she needed.
Sweat beads formed on the back of her neck. Without stopping, she pulled her dark, kinky hair up into a ponytail using the pink hair tie she usually wore around her wrist.
She swore she could almost smell the heat seeping in from the outside. Is the store getting warmer? Why would they turn off the air conditioner in the middle of July?
After fluffing her ponytail a bit, she continued on towards the cereal aisle to meet back up with Guy.
The store was quiet. Too quiet. No crying babies, no ding of the cash register, no one talking loudly on their cell phone, no carts banging their way up the aisles. The only sound seemed to come from her flip flops smacking against the tiled floor.
Where is everyone? she wondered.
She turned down the cereal aisle. It was empty.
Where is Guy?
Something pricked at the back of her mind, a brief feeling of terror tightening her belly. She tried to hold onto it, to understand why she was suddenly so afraid. But the thought passed as quickly as it arrived, leaving only feelings of confusion and dread.
He’s probably picking up another wire for something or other, she told herself. Guy was always wandering off. She usually found him buzzing around the electronics aisle. Her fear turned into playful annoyance as she quickly made her way to electronics. She glanced up and down each aisle as she passed.
They were all empty.
She turned up the aisle marked electronics.
There was no one there.
Swearing under her breath, she walked towards the pink haired girl behind the customer service desk, her annoyance and fear growing with every step.
The girl greeted her by looking up from her cell phone. She chewed her gum with a certain severity, her tongue moving the green glob from one side of her mouth to the other. She reminded Samantha of a cow chewing cud.
“I need to page my husband,” Samantha said.
The girl popped her gum. “What’s his name?”
“Guy Patterson.”
Pressed a long blue fingernail to the intercom, the girl spoke into the small microphone. “Guy Patterson please come to the customer service desk. Guy Patterson, your party is waiting for you.�
�
Samantha sighed, pulled out her phone, and waited.
He’ll be here, she assured herself. He’ll be here.
She got to the bottom of her Facebook feed and looked at the clock on the wall. Two minutes had passed. He still hadn't shown up. The dread grew stronger in her belly.
Where is he?
The clerk’s attention was fully on her now, one brows pushing upward in question. “Do you want me to page him again?”
“No, thanks.” With a tight smile, Samantha left the cookies at the desk and headed out the door.
Maybe he’s waiting for me at the car.
Stepping outside, she froze.
The parking lot was empty, all except for her black Honda Civic. There was no one around, most notably not her husband.
Her lungs constricted slightly as panic started to set in.
Where is everyone? Where is Guy?
“Guy!” She called out, looking around the perimeter of the parking lot. “Hello?”
Something was wrong. She needed to see somebody, anybody. There had to be someone left in the world besides her and the clerk.
She breathed deep.
It’s fine. Just relax. It’s fine.
Pulling out her cell phone, she pressed the number two key on the keypad, speed dialing Guy’s number. It rang twice. Then, a voice:
“Hel-,”
“Where are you?” she demanded.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“It’s me. Where are you? I’m at the car.”
“I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number.” Click.
Samantha’s looked at the phone in disbelief. That was not her husband’s voice.
What is going on?
She dialed Guy’s number slowly, carefully, and waited while it rang. It went straight to voicemail.
“Hi, you’ve reached the number of Donald Sanitario. I’m not able to get to the phone right now but please leave…”
Aghast, she lowered the phone from her ear. Confusion, and worry fought for dominance.
Wrong number? Guy has had the same number for eleven years. It couldn’t be the wrong number. Someone’s playing a prank on me, she thought. They have to be.
When she didn’t see any cameras, cars, or people for that matter, she looked at her phone again. She scrolled down to contacts and looked for her husband’s name.