July 2023

What Must Be Done

Flash Fiction

The waves crashed against the rocks. I stared out at the ocean. Nothing left for me here in this existence. The light rotated around the lighthouse, breaking through the darkness. I had a simple life, married, and prepared to have a kid. They would have been born about now, but all that is gone. When everything went wrong, I continued to work at the lighthouse, but that is where I stayed. My wife decided to live in one of the lower rooms. I told her she should leave the island. This wasn’t a place to help with her pregnancy.

She wouldn’t listen to reason. As long as she was close to me, she said. The first few days all seemed fine. We spent them together. I made her breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the small stove I had. She used her spare time to read through her books.

I kept a close eye on her. Partially because of the baby, but also because she could become something terrible. I remember the people of that town, how they were before the fog set in. They were happy. They were prosperous.

Now she came to me from that contaminated town like nothing was different. Like she was the same woman I married. But I saw what people became, and it was not pretty. Only God knew why I was still me, or it could be I wasn’t and I perceived it that way. How would I know what was real when my brain might be scrambled? The days passed, and all seemed normal, but I knew it wouldn’t last.

I knew she had to be plotting my death, and I wouldn’t let it happen. The fog was too deep in her mind. She couldn’t return to the woman she once was. I couldn’t get my wife, but I could stop her from becoming more of a monster like the rest of them. Savage humans with no remorse or regard for others’ lives.

She slept at night while I watched the light pass across the ocean. I knew some nights she wasn’t asleep. Instead, she stayed awake inside her room, plotting. Maybe she would sneak up the stairs and slice my throat while I looked into the darkness. Or maybe she would take the chance to smother me when I finally fell asleep. No matter her plans, I could not let her complete them.

I continued to act as normal as I could around her, but she continued to tell me I should sleep. She always tried to persuade me to let my guard down, but I wouldn’t do it. I remained vigilant in my quest to stay alert and look for the perfect time to strike. Not only the right time, but I still had conflicted feelings about her death. Tears rolled down my cheeks night after night as the salty sea air blew across my face. I only wanted my Eleanor back. No one was the same once the fog entered their system.

It took me weeks until I found the courage to do what I had to do. I knew I was ready when I stopped tearing up at the thought of it. She woke up, and I prepared her breakfast in bed. An omelet was her favorite. It contained eggs, cheese, ham, and mushrooms.

She ate the omelet and thanked me as usual. I hurried to clean her plate, and as I did, she said she felt nauseous and lightheaded. It could be from the baby, I said, and suggested that she get more rest. She curled up in her blanket and fell asleep quicker than I expected. I spent the time she slept building her coffin. The wood I took from the edge of the forest, and I collected a few stones to give it more weight.

I finished it before lunch and the whole time I didn’t hear a sound from Eleanor’s room. I opened her door and called to her. She didn’t answer. I stepped into the room and turned her over. She always was a deep sleeper. I took a deep breath, grabbed my pillow, and pressed it down over her face.

For a moment, she was still asleep, but she soon flailed her arms. I pressed harder. Her hands grabbed mine. She tried to pry them off the pillow. I kept the pressure until I felt her grip loosen. Her arms fell to her sides. My eyes watered, but I wiped them before a tear could slip out.

I wrapped her in her blanket and carried her to the coffin outside. It waited by the shore. She fit perfectly inside. I placed the rocks around her and took one last look. She was still as beautiful as the day I met her.

Regret filled my mind, but I washed it out with the reminder of what she was becoming. My back and arms ached as I drug the coffin into the water. I leaned down and hugged its surface. The wet wood sent a chill down my spine. Or was it my late wife caressing me for doing what I had to? I said my goodbyes and pushed her out into the waves.

I pushed it further out and it sank down into her final resting place. No one ever swam in the waters near the lighthouse, and no one visited the island in more years than I care to remember. Frankly, I didn’t care if someone found her. Night after night, I would lie awake. I tossed and turned at the thought of her by my side. My bed felt colder than the waters below.

Some nights I could hear the faint sound of a baby crying out. It rose from the bottom of the lighthouse and echoed through the stairwell. I didn’t dare go down those steps. The faint cries of an unborn child continued to haunt my nights. It wasn’t something I could handle for long. The cries were louder every night until I couldn’t hear my thoughts.

I expect those cries will never stop haunting me, and the loneliness that clings to my soul will never let go. Not without my sweet Eleanor by my side. Only one next step was the most logical one. I had to join her. If you’re reading this, I have already taken the leap. I am now with my sweet Eleanor in the waters below. We are together again, for eternity.

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Day of the Dead

Movie Review #12

The first film I am reviewing is, “Day of the Dead”, a 1985 film directed and written by George A. Romero. It’s about a mixed group of scientists and soldiers hiding in a military bunker in Florida. Honestly, I hadn’t gotten around to watching any of George A. Romero’s zombie films. I definitely will have to watch the series from the beginning after I saw this film. It was an excellent take on people breaking down mentally. From both the apocalypse and being in the confined bunker over time. I love films with practical effects, especially when they look as phenomenal as they did in this film. There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this film and will watch it a lot more. If you want to watch a zombie film with a great story and amazing effects, you should watch George A. Romero’s “Day of the Dead”.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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