Flashback

Carry loved Nat. Sitting there beside him, his body stretched out; she could not think of anyone else she would have rather spent her life with. She was truly happy, the way she fancied one should feel at the end; the fullness of heart that came with such a life, she now knew what that was.

His hair was long, carelessly flowing down the sides of his dark long neck and covering his forehead. She had been the one to give him his haircut the day he went for his first big break. She had been with him through the trials; the sleepless nights where he needed his beauty sleep. She had readily given herself to him for she could not ask for more. So that out of her love would grow his sense of peace and it would root him when the hurricane winds of photo-shoots and auditions would blow over him. She had been there and he had grown on her.

Every morning she arranged his health foods for him. She managed his appointment books. She re-arranged her work hours so that she could leave just after him and come back late at night. He had to work really hard and many days he would not be home till the wee hours of the morning. But she made sure he had a home to come back to, a warm embrace to melt into and oranges and blueberries for the next morning.

The money came in slowly and there was not much at the beginning. She paid for his physical training sessions and patiently measured his chest grow inches. The day he got the Hawaii assignment, he had run into the house, he had swept her off her feet in one easy swoosh and said, “Carry, this is all because of you. I do not know how I will ever pay you back for this.” Carry had arranged his bags for him. But she did think why he had said 'repay'. The choice of words had chilled her spine. But she was overjoyed for him. It took a lot of hard work to be on the summer launch of Boisterous. And he was perfect for it.

She did feel uneasy when she waved bye to him at the airport. He had told her she did not have to take the trouble to park the car and he would make his way from the curb. Carry did not know why she obeyed her urge to turn the car and see him once more for even she knew this urge was not born purely of love.

She had come home shocked that night. It might have been a sweet embrace of a colleague but somehow it did not seem to her to be so. Even as she drove away from the curb the second time, she could see the lady’s long blonde tresses flow out of his chest and her body held in the muscles she had lovingly assessed and measured.

With him lying next to her back from his trip, she felt happy and contented for she now knew that he truly did love her. What else could explain the ring in his hand unfolding onto the pool of red.

“Hello ma’am. Is everything alright?” she heard a voice outside her apartment door and the only way she could reply was to feel the cold metal at her temple and pull the trigger.