Soft green eyes look into mine and see past the similar color and seemingly into my heart. The notion sends a sharp spike of nerves up my spine as I quickly jump to the conclusion that she knows. I find I have a sudden impulse to run but have no idea where to go, like a cat consumed with the knowledge of an impending earthquake but no way to avoid its fury in a locked house. The moment passes as I quickly search her eyes. Their depths are filled with concern and understanding as we walk towards an empty alleyway to speak away from prying eyes and judgmental gawkers. My guilt should be mine alone, my confession hidden in lies I will assuredly tell her in moments, and my condemnation should await my death.
I lean against the rough wall, cold pebbles nudge against the thin material of my silk shirt and I try to gather my thoughts without giving away my nerves. The stench rotten food and wet garbage seeps up through my nostrils almost causing me puke up the toast I had for breakfast. We stand, maybe a foot from each other, and I feel something press against my shirt. Cold seeps through the cotton and drives goose bumps up my body.
A loud sound shoots through my eardrums, a car backfiring, I believe, and then there is sharp pain radiating outward from a place I cannot ascertain. I can feel my eyes growing wider and a metallic taste bubbles up my throat. The black hole, now at eye-level, releases tiny coils of smoke, soon enveloped by the smothering, hot air. I stumble back and the uneven, brick building claws my head and back. Liquid dribbles down my stomach, leaking into my jeans and warming my groin and upper thighs. I look down to discover the source and there is red, dark flowing red, enveloping the colors on my shirt until there is nothing but reds My legs give out and I slowly slide down the rough wall, until I am seated in a puddle of blood, blood that is my own. Darkness begins to cloud my vision but I force my lolling head to look into the eyes…of a killer? The empty eyes of jealousy and savagery? Unsure of how this could be, I shake my head, trying to clear the fog filling my mind.
“Mother?”