“What.. what should I do now?”
Look straight ahead, my dear
and then- tell me as you see
Wryly curling lips, a sharp stare
unto the eyes I so seldom behold-
Burnt coffee swirling in two pools
inlaid with larger flecks sparse,
the muddied water sizzles; a colour
so bitter I feel my tongue curling,
so bitter it reminds me of the truth..
Perhaps we can start, my dear
Time is of the essence, after all
mimicking her insincere demeanour,
“Just gathering my thoughts ma’am,
I’ll get to it just now, please wait”
“They said.. I wasn’t cut out to lead-
in truth? I could never really fit in,
I cared too much about the project”
A large blob rolls wetly down,
What did you do then, my dear?
“My ideas, my hours of research
they so uncaringly disregarded,
granted I was too sincere - but..”
the pools glint electric as I pause,
“You already know, don’t you?”
Let us move on to the next, my dear
Is that a note of frustration I hear?
“High school- surely you get it..
she was my best, and only friend-
two fat girls clinging to each other”
“That fall.. ‘basketball’, she claimed,
yet it seemed miraculously.. bulimic,
so I tried it too, well, and then..”
And then? “All I spoke was my truth-
rightly so, for it absolved me”
Let us move on to the next, my dear
the pools occluded for a second,
“Despite knowing her sordid history,
they believed she’d ‘recovered’,
or so I was unfailingly reminded”
Did she not request you, my dear?
“Two packs of seltzer, just for her,
I knew not it had an alcoholic kind,
could she not tell from the first sip?
I am responsible but for my actions”
Let us move on to the next, my dear
“What else have you dredged up?”
Did you know of the girl before, my dear?
the pools brim with fresh tears,
face awash, “About a month, fool that I’m”
Let us revisit the past weekend, my..
“The pretence is a bit much, isn’t it?
As I’ve stated countless times ere,
I was on a flight over the Atlantic,
off to receive my Honors Medal”
Let us revisit the weeks prior, Ms Alithis,
It had been snowing quite heavily,
You said “I had to shovel it myself,
couldn’t get any of the kids to do it”
Care to explain why this change?
“As I said before, Lei became stingy-
we were quite literally snowed in,
naturally they wanted extra, but..”
Did he tell the kids this, Ms Alithis?
“No, as I said, I dealt with them”
Why did you not pay them yourself?
“You must definitely be single ma’am,
that would’ve been goading him”
Did you notice anything with his car,
when you were diligently shovelling?
The pools darkened a smidgen,
“My partner crashed his bloody car,
died along with his bloody mistress,
all while I was bloody miles away,
And you’re questioning my shovelling?”
Let us carry on civilly, Ms Alithis,
There appears to be some foul..
“Yes, I confess now, I did it,
jumped out of the plane and
rammed his car right onto a tree”
A pregnant silence overtakes the air,
Your anger is warranted, Ms Alithis,
having suffered a great loss; however
above all, justice must be served.
the pools clear in acquiescence
On the night of their deaths,
Mr Thyma had called you five times,
“As I’ve already said, I. Don’t. Know. Why”
Could it be that he was locked out?
“What are you implying, ma’am?”
Did he inform you of his weekend plans?
“ ‘With this snow, I’m not leaving the bed’ ”
Why did he leave then, that night?
“Surely you’re.. he went to get his bimbo,
but to answer, he’d run out of smokes”
It seems strange to leave before you..
“As you know, the Arlo’s been disabled
exactly since he left, the asshole.. he..
planned it so I wouldn’t suspect,
It was connected to both your cells? “No”
The pools glisten in the rippling shock,
You stated otherwise prior, Ms Alithis,
“Because I believed so then, for
I only got to the app after his funeral-
I’ve been logged out for a month”
Please hand over your cell, Ms Alithis
“Sure, if that’s all I’d like to leave”
Just a few more, dear, since then,
Have you faced any issues driving?
“Other than the icy roads? No”
Were there any issues in his car?
“That dump is, was.. ten years old,
had a myriad of issues he ignored..
Are you saying that’s why he..?”
Thank you for your cooperation.
The screen blackens over the pools,
My gaze at long last shifts to her,
“Can you please just tell me what’s..?
The car’s exhaust was choked with snow,
leading to a CO leak inside the vehicle.
“Why didn’t they try to get out?”
Realising he didn’t have his keys,
stranded as they were in the remote land,
he likely called you, panicking- given
his medical history there wasn’t much time..
The doctors assess he had a seizure
which caused the terrible crash.
“Oh my god, oh my god.. what..”
Tell me Verity, off the record, if-
what I am about to say is the truth?
Lei’s keys are lost, or discarded,
where you received commendation?
“Truthfully, ma’am, I’ve suffered
a great loss - laid him to rest,
Above all? Justice has been served.
Hey guys! Do let me know what you thought! I’d really appreciate some constructive feedback :)
