Midnight, 29 May 2000.
Dear Kara,
This is the last letter I am writing for you. I promise it's the last one.
Please believe me.
I saw that man again and I am not hallucinating, I saw him up close. He was strangling me, his grip on my neck was tightening as if he wanted to kill me in that instant and I am sure he was planning on killing me.
Fortunately, my neighbour, Allen saw the backdoor of the house open and came to casually drink with me but he happened to see my misfortune.
Yes, Allen saw him throwing me on floor and jumping out of the window. You can call Allen and ask him that I am not lying.
Kara, I beg you to come and see me one last time. I am sure that man will come again. He will not stop until he kills me. Please, believe me, I am not mad.
I am not lying and i don't need that fucking damn Psychotherapist Paul Barton to treat me.
Because I know, it's that Paul Barton who wants to kill me. I have told you numerous times to stop meeting him. He is not a good person. I know his real intentions. He always wanted to seperate us and he did it. Didn't he???
You left me because he said I am mentally unstable, he said I am suicidal but I wasn't. I never wanted to take my life not until tonight.
Yes, I want to kill myself before he does. I don't want him to torment me to death. I don't even want to see his face. His eyes scare me, his gaze is so penetrating, so deep which shows his hatred for me, every inch of his skin hates me to death.
Kara, my dearest,
We are childhood friends. Aren't we.
We have known each other for more than twenty years.
We are married for more than five years. We are the closest to each other. Why don't you listen to me anymore. You know I am not lying. I am sure you believe me. Please meet me. I know you are hiding something from me. I want to know what is that you can't tell me.
It's not like I am forcing you to come but if you won't come tomorrow to meet me. You won't be able to see me ever again.
With immeasurable love,
Your husband.
Sam Marino.
..........
"What are typing for so long, the tea has already been turned ice." Allen said.
I was so immensed in writing the Email to Kara that I didn't feel him coming and I was startled by his sudden presence behind me.
I abruptly turned the screen off the laptop and as I turned my head behind to look at Allen..... and I saw him very close to me. Dangerously close.
As if he tried to....
No, no that shouldn't be what I am thinking.
But somewhere in my mind I knew my instincts are telling me to get away from there, far away from Allen and run away but where???
I am currently in Allen's house. I was so scared to stay alone in my apartment so he invited me to stay in his apartment for the night and tomorrow he will go to police station with me and file a complaint.
But, here I am. Very close to Allen. Our noses are almost touching and this feeling of closeness is making me afraid. I am looking straight in his eyes but there is nothing in his eyes.
His expression can't be normal than it is. He is observing me, observing everyone movement of me and more importantly, his gaze is making me afraid and at this moment of time, i am not able to move and inch, not to think of moving I can't even blink my eyes.
Yes, I am frozen. Completely frozen.
"Hey, why are you dazed??? Are you all right???" Allen said as he was coming from kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand.
I became utterly shocked. I thought If Allen just came out of the kitchen then who was the one who was staring closely at me a moment ago. I started shivering.
Was I hallucinating, again.
With trembling hands, I opened the screen of my laptop and saw the Email I sent to Kara was there and I relaxed.
No, i was not imagining things I thought but I felt uneasy and hesitatingly asked Allen who has already sat across me on the sofa.
"When are we going to the police station?? In the morning or afternoon."
I asked and looked straight in his eyes and I saw him giving me a strange puzzled expression and once again I was Frozen. I had the creepy feeling that something is really wrong with everything and everyone around me. I stared at Allen as if urging him to answer and clear my doubts and give me some hope that I am not crazy and what he said was this,
"Why are we going to police station" Allen asked and started sipping his coffee, his eyes pierced through me and on his lips, I clearly saw an amusing smile.
As if someone poured a bucket of cold water on me, I felt completely drenched.
But it was not cold water but my sweat. I am sweating uncontrollably.
I heard myself ask Allen again as if to reassure me of something,
You saw him right. Didn't you???
His face expression changed he seemed puzzled but amused. He looked at me like watching an amusing performance of a joker and I really felt like a joker.
"Who" he asked.
"Ten minutes ago, you came to my house from backdoor and saw a man who was strangling me, when he saw you he throew me away from him and jumped out of the window and then",
I stopped and maintained a firm eye contact.
"And then what" he asked without the change of expression.
"And then you invited me to your house to stay for a night", I completed my sentence hurriedly because I was desperate to get an answer from him. I felt myself feeling annoyed and getting Angry on the way Allen is looking at me.
Allen pointed towards the photos hanging on the wall and laughed.
"Can't you recognise your and your wife's photos.
This is your house we are sitting in currently", Allen said and pointed towards table and I followed his gaze and looked at the table and saw some bottles of alcohol lying there completely empty.
"Don't drink too much, I know you are heartbroken because of the sudden death of your wife but you shouldn't drink that much." He went on and on but I couldn't hear what he was saying because I was lost.
I mumbled to myself, "Kara is dead, when, how, why don't i know about it. I felt my tears streaming down my eyes but my conscious was clear without any remorse or miserable feeling one should have when someone closest to them died but I felt none, my tears were seamless, they were flooding my eyes. I couldn't see clear at all.
I was lost in my mind, in my memories, searching for the memory of my wife Kara's death but there was no such memory.
I was panicking from inside, my world, my life, everything felt like a joke to me. I am going crazy.
I am really going crazy.
Suddenly, i felt my body being encaged in something warm something comfortable as if someone is hugging me. I wiped my tears and looked at the person holding me. It was none other than Allen and I felt uncomfortable.
I felt uncomfortable finding myself hugging a stranger and crying like a child in his mother's embrace.
Yes, Allen is a stranger, apart from knowing that he just moved recently next door, I do not know him at all.
He is patting my back, trying to soothe my pain but I felt afraid. I felt I am hallucinating. I felt I am alone in this living room, in this house or in the whole world. I am alone.
His voice brought me back, i couldn't make out what he is saying i tried hard and finally started to understand.
".... Ok. Just listen to me. Kara always wanted you to see that psychiatrist Paul Barton. You are my best friend. I don't want to see you like this anymore.
Come to meet him with me tomorrow. Ok."
Allen said.
I pushed him suddenly with all my strength and he fell on the floor.
"Stop it, I don't know you. Who is your friend. You must that bastard Paul's accomplice. You all want to kill me. Right.
You all are driving me nuts.
What did I do to deserve all this??
Why??? Is it happening to me???", i was shouting as loudly as I can. I was desperate. I was scared. I want to shout and pour out all the pain i have within me but I couldn't. I was crying. I was crying so hard that my throat started hurting like someone has slit it with knife and I was right.
I tried to touch my neck with my hand I saw sharp kitchen knife held tightly in my own hand, blood was all over the place. On the knife, on my hands, i could feel the blood seeping down through my shirt on the floor, everywhere is bloody red and my vision blurred and I felt my body getting lightweight and fell to floor with a thud.
.........
I opened my eyes but I couldn't move. My body is feeling as stiff as a stone. I stared at the ceiling of the white room I was in. I heard footsteps coming from a far and the door opened.
I thought I came back to a hell. I clearly remembered that I was lying in blood and was almost dead and now why I am here. Seeing a nightmare.
I saw him looking at me as a predator looking at its prey. I am terrified.
He was staring at me, seemed amused and satisfied with my terrified expression i am trying hard to not to show.
He smiled as he approached me and said,
"Long time no see".
I tried hard to ignore him and look at the nurse in order to plead her to take this man away but I couldn't speak or i couldn't even move my lips. To my utter dismay, the nurse didn't even look at me. She injected some medicine in the new IV drip bottle and changed it and left.
My gaze followed her disappearing figure in the corridor and the door closed in slow motion and my heart started thumping heavily. It was getting difficult for me to breathe because he was strangling my neck again and i looked at his face.
His face has not expression, his eyes has no emotions just like a blood thirsty beast he smiled and releasedy neck. I tried to breathe as much as I can. My vision is blurred by my tears and I felt a warm breath whispering near my ear.
"I have not tormented you enough, you can't leave me alone here in this cruel world."
"I won't let you die not until you remember everything." Said Paul Barton as he looked at me grinning from ear to ear.
I looked at him as i didn't understand what is he saying.
He started coming closer and closer to my face and when we were inches apart he said smiling.
"I will help you.
I will help you to remember how you killed Kara and my Allen.
I will help you remember every bit of the pain they felt.
My dear prey...."
I felt my voice shouting in my mind.
It was you.
It was you who killed everyone.
It you who killed my wife and son.
You psyco.
..........
