by: shannon masters
josie screams. the horrendous echoes through the night ricochet off alleys and dumpsters. all the regular bums and prostitutes continue going about their business, as if this ear-shattering shriek was simply another drowned out background noise amongst the bustling downtown atmosphere. a second scream rockets through the streets...
in a nearby ditch behing the crummy apartments, a strange old man opens his crystal blue eyes and slowly lifts his head out of the mass of dark green rags that safeguard him from the elements. he looks up to the third floor of josie's apartment complex, where the window leading to the fire exit is cracked open, with a fan inside blowing in a cool breeze. the man puts his head back down...
a female body explodes through the window, shards of glass flying out and dropping to the ground. a loud clang rings out, as josie's body slams against the barred railing of her fire escape. she panics, and begins running down the stairs. she reaches the last few steps, and trips over herself, stumbling face first to the dirt floor beneath...
josie looks up to see the old man sitting there beside her fallen body. she attempts to pull herself up, but to no avail. her frail body hits the dirt again. she rolls over on her back, turns her head to the right, and coughs up a mouthful of blood. the old man speaks...
"you again, eh?" he says to her. "yes," she replies, "yes again." the old man sits silently for a moment, then speaks once more. "why does this still persist?" he asks. "because i love him." she replies, a subtle tear in her eye. the old man closes his eyes...
he opens his eyes again, a final time, and peers up to the familliar, now broken, apartment window of josie's third-floor apartment. a shadowy figure appears, then dissappears in the light. without hesitation, the old man readies a small dagger he keeps with him for protection, and stabs josie in the chest. leaving the knife in her blood-stained bosom, he speaks a final time to her...
"you are free." said the old man. with last desperation, josie looks at the old man's clammy face and utters her final words: "thank you."