One Last Glance

By Haniya Ahmed

A bolt of lightning spread across the sky and she heard the power lines struck down. With a loud crack she stood up, left her dreams incomplete and she was awake. The room was dark, except a little light peeping inside through the window. She fell asleep then. It was 7:00 a.m. in the morning, and this time, not the lightening, but a howl had awakened her. No sign of Jack, her son!

Simon, her husband, was on a business tour his aim was to be as successful as he can be, and to be wealthier than his brother. She hated the way Simon was always jealous of his brother-Will.

"No eggs....I need to find Jack...perhaps I'll have to go to Mr. Wills." She reached the elevator and pressed" GROUND FLOOR" She knocked at the door once...twice...thrice...after which she could feel something hot, burning hot touching her cold feet. Her heart pounded fast as she looked at the dark red blood. She turned the lock and was baffled to see Jack sitting alone. "Oh God! Is everything------" she was interrupted by her son. "Mom look back" her son said.

She was paralyzed as she saw the body lying in an unusual way, blood dripping from every part of his face-the face of Mr. Wills. Unable to think anything, she went up to her apartment, went deep into her thoughts and tried to think clearly. She was brought back to life by the turning of the keys of the other room.

"Amanda! I’m home" Simon cried, smiling.

"Your only brother....the only brother you had....is dead." She said. Simon gave her a shocking look and shouted “What? Are you crazy?" His mouth wide open.

She knew it was her job, being a detective, she knew what she had to do. Holding his hand she took him to Wills' apartment where Jack was still examining his uncle's body. There was no weapon....not a single one. Perhaps the murderer had taken it away. That day she was unable to sleep. Simon would be so sad, she thought, he lost the only brother he ever had.

She was startled when she realized that Simon wasn’t there. In the depth of the night, where could he have been? To look for him, she ran to the elevator and pressed "GROUND FLOOR" After 2 seconds, her heart raced as she realized the elevator had stopped in between the floors. She felt as if she would depart from this life and no one would ever know...

But as the elevator moved, it seemed as if someone had put life into a dead person. Getting out of the elevator quickly, she noticed that Wills' door was slightly open, that was when she realized someone came to his room in the depth of this horrifying night. Someone who came to make sure he cleared all the clues that went against him.

A smile crossed her face; she knew there was no clue, except for one, which was not present at the time when she first investigated the room. She stepped out of the apartment building, the moon shone with an ominous glow. Sounds of frogs croaking and crickets chirping made her look back to the lonely building. Since a very long time she knew Simon didn’t like Will, because of his abilities to earn more and being able to live a life that every person desires. She thought about the day she was married to Simon and when Jack was born. She remembered the times when Mr. Will would bring gifts for Jack and when he would play with him in his free time. Nothing but memories surrounded her and she felt like she was being torn apart. 

It was 9:00 am in the morning now. "Amanda where is my cell phone?" Simon looked confused. "How would I know? You must have left it....somewhere" She replied. "Where? Oh....yes.....umm" He tried to remember. She went closer to him "Thanks to me dear, I found it.." she smiled.

And as she handed the only thing she found at Wills' apartment. She knew she was standing against a murderer. She knew she had to hide this truth forever to save her husband, to save the man she loved. How far would you go to save the person you love? She asked herself. She knew what she was doing was against her job but she had no other choice. She wanted to forget whatever happened and live a normal life because she was too afraid to lose Simon and she knew Jack can never live without him.

Unexpectedly, a smile pierced Simon’s face into two. She was not prepared to die....but this did not stop the blade from digging into her chest, her back, her cheek. It happened so suddenly that she wasn’t able to gather her thoughts and realize what he is up to. She wanted to tell him that it doesn’t matter, she wanted him to know that she won’t let anyone know, that she would hide his bitter reality.

She weakened; gasped through her sliced neck for one more breathe....just one more glance of her clever husband.