2 years back, Mrs. Cooper and her late husband had moved into the house next to Elizabeth’s. Being a friendly suburban housewife with a loving husband and two sons, the 36 years old housewife would always offer helps to make them feel welcomed. The husband, Mr. Cooper was a really friendly and an easy going man.
He would laugh easily. Mrs. Cooper on the other hand was introverted and rarely talks. From regular conversations with Mr. Cooper, Elizabeth found out that Mr and Mrs Cooper did not have any child of their own as Mrs. Cooper underwent hysterectomy after having complications with her first pregnancy. Elizabeth felt sorry for her but had always felt something wrong about Mrs Cooper.
Then, things went terribly wrong as Mr. Cooper got caught in an accident and had passed away just 6 months after they had settled in. Mrs. Cooper descended into a lengthy period of depression. For so many times, Elizabeth tried to offer consolations but her efforts were only met with hostility from Mrs. Cooper. Eventually, Elizabeth decided to just leave the poor widow alone. For a whole year, Elizabeth and her family along with Mrs Cooper had near nil interaction aside from the occasional and brief morning greeting and whenever Elizabeth and her family had events like a party or a Sunday barbecue in their backyard, Elizabeth would catch Mrs Cooper peeping behind the curtain through the window from her bedroom.
Until this very morning, Elizabeth was in the kitchen preparing lunch for her eldest son Charlie. Just then a woman wearing a midi floral printed dress sneaked into the kitchen through the back door. In her hand was a razor sharp knife. Elizabeth, who was trying to get the lunch prepared suddenly cried in pain as the razor sharp knife unexpectedly pierced through her abdomen. The knife then came out of her body and got flung onto the floor. Blood immediately covered her blue apron. Elizabeth then collapsed. The woman fled away briskly and went out the same door, shutting the door behind her.
Now, as Elizabeth lies upon a pool of blood of her own, she manages to catch a glimpse of the figure hurrying away through the glass kitchen door. Scraggy streaks of hair trailed behind as the assailant flees the scene. “Mrs Copper…?” she thinks to herself. Then the pain kicks in, sharp, unbearable pain follows every pulse of her heart beat as blood flows like red wine out of her abdomen. “Charlie…Charlie…” Elizabeth tries to call her son with all the strength she has. Charlie who is in the living room races to her side. ” Mom!” he cries.
“Call 911…” While Charlie goes to get help, Elizabeth wonders what will happen if she dies. How her death will affect the family she cared when she was alive. Both of her sons are still young. She will not be there to support them at the moment they needed her the most. She will not have the chance to watch her sons grow up, sending them to college. They will also get to marry the woman they love and then having their own child.
As Elizabeth thinks of what she might miss if she dies, tears form in the corner of her eyes and pours. Elizabeth’s abdomen again throbs painfully as she is waiting for the ambulance. The despair and pain erupts from her like a volcano. She can feel the life leak out of her. She closes her eyes, knowing the darkness will soon swallow her. “Hold still.” Someone gently places her head on a headrest, checking her over. “A wound was noted in the abdomen, but I don’t see anything worse. Stay still and you will be just fine.”
