Extract from Red

19th Feb 2008

The vision from the night before flashed through his mind again – her in a white dress with a red flower in her hair. She was happy, dancing, laughing. But not with him. She had forgotten about him. She was looking at the other one. And she looked so happy.

Then she saw him. Shock played on her face. But it was more than that. It was fear. Fear mixed with defiance. She looked at him. She laughed at him.

He pulled the trigger. And a red flower appeared on her white dress. It grew. She stopped laughing. She looked down, saw the blood, and looked at him. And the fear was gone. All he saw was pity. And then the light in her eyes was gone. She was gone.

When he saw this last night it was so real. He could see the blood pumping on that white dress, could feel her getting cold.

He was horrified, angry at himself. He berated himself for allowing such a daydream. Such violent thoughts about the woman he loved. He loved her like his own soul.

But it was more than a daydream. He was reliving it. He could feel his hand pulling the trigger, the smell of fresh blood.

Then he knew that they had been together before. And she had rejected him for someone else. Suddenly he understood his own feelings. He understood how he could feel love and revulsion for the same person.

It scared him. It confused him. Part of him said it was just a vision. It was not real. What was real was her sitting here next to him in the car, his bride, together with him on their honeymoon.

But how do you wipe out a memory?

He could not tell her what he had experienced. How do you tell your bride that you had had a vision of killing her?

But he could not bear the thought. Was it a vision of things to come? It was so real. Why did he not listen to these warnings before getting married? What if she is already involved with someone else?

Read the whole story in A Tapestry of Life, a collection of short stories about moments that changed people’s lives. The book can also be obtained from Trafford Publishing.