The Letter

Boy sits in a room at a desk, writing in a book as music plays in the background. He’s drawn to thoughts of her.
(letter)
There was something good there, wherever we were. God I’m so far away now, I feel like I’m on another planet. I wish I knew how to make things simple again.

In his mind he pictures her sitting on the chair, walking through the room. Her dark hair flowing down toward her face, a soft smile playing on her lips.
(letter)
I don’t know how to say what I mean. I can always find the right words. But now…..I don’t even know how to think. I shouldn’t have let everything get so screwed up. Complicated.

He thinks about how soft her hair was. How blue her eyes were. He really needed her just then, but it was too late.
(letter)
We used to be so perfect, for lack of a better word, complete together. I don’t know what happened. Now everything’s just gone. Everything we were, everything we had, everything I could’ve been. It’s all gone. Wasted in a moment. I don’t know what happened. It was so sudden.

He can smell her now. Just a hint of shampoo, a touch of rose. The smell of smoke. He just wanted to hold her. In his mind she dances in front of him, like she would sometimes when she was happy. She used to be happy. And beautiful, so beautiful. Now she was just gone.
(letter)
She was leaving with him. I knew if I let her go I’d never see her again. I couldn’t just let her leave with him. I should’ve though. I just meant to stop her, I didn’t mean to throw her into the wall. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I loved her. I killed Todd after that, I had to keep him from bringing the police. I’d already lost the only thing I ever cared about, what was one more murder? Besides, I always hated him anyway. I don’t expect to ‘get away with it’ but I do expect that my maker will be the one to judge me, not the court. I’ll be judge and punished accordingly. When I’m done writing this, I’ll call 911 and report a murder. Then I’m going to meet my beloved. I only ask that my daughter be given this letter when she can understand it. I want her to know that I was not a bad man, that I never meant to hurt her mommy.

He signs the letter, gets up from the desk and walks to the phone.

‘911 Operator, what is your emergency?’
‘I just shot a man.’
‘Is he wounded?’
‘Yes, Ma’am, he’s dead.’
He replaces the phone, walks into the bathroom.

Within minutes of the call, police officer’s report to 513 Greentree Ln. Kathy Ricks was found dead in a pool of blood in the basement, near her lay her husband, Todd. The Ricks' daughter, Kaitlyn was found sleeping in her crib. The police identified the dead man in the bathroom as 21 year old Karl Hayes, a former student of Mrs. Ricks.