The Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Marge Simon @Sotet_Angyal #LoH #fiction #poem #poetry #poet

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Keeping Time
by Marge Simon

He keeps that watch beside our bed. He winds it every night. It is a peculiarly shaped watch, all sharp corners and edges. I loathe it.  A thousand ticks and I can’t sleep. When he wants me, he shakes my arm. All though it – all though the banging and slapping of his body on mine, I hear the clicks of that damnable time piece. Sometimes I wonder if he times his own release, for it surely has nothing to do with me.

This evening, he calls for his supper. He wants it in his study, he says. I see him consult the watch and place it next to his stack of books and papers. I’m not surprised when he tells me sternly just how long it should take and precisely when I am to bring it in. I dread these moods of his, for they are becoming more and more frequent. He’s consumed with his research. And his indigestion problems.

“You realize that I could alter history, Martha. It’s a simple matter of slipping between a fraction of an instant and circumventing the inevitable.” I don’t understand what he is saying, but it doesn’t matter. When we were wed, I thought he cared for me. Foolish thought! He speaks to me as if I were a child.

So I count the seconds into minutes as I prepare his meal.  I have been adding a bit of arsenic to his vegetables, his soups. It began with just a trace amount. This night, I’ll give him a final dose within the stew. It shall be served on time.

My dear husband, I do believe I’ve circumvented the inevitable. And I think I know what that means, now.

Fiction © Copyright Marge Simon
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Marge Simon:

 

Satan’s Sweethearts
by Marge Simon and‎ Mary Turzillo

Satan’s Sweethearts – a collection of poems by Marge Simon and Mary Turzillo featuring the most monstrous, evil women throughout history!

Available on Amazon!