Death Wish

An excerpt from the novella.

This is an excerpt from my novella (30K words, so not small) called Deathwish. It tells the tale of Linda, a grieving widow who so fervently wishes that her husband was still alive that she inadvertently invites dark forces to interfere. Of course, bringing someone back from the Dead is never going to be good. In this chapter, after increasing signs that Linda is not alone in her house - signs that suggest the impossible - she decides on a plan. Desperate and terrified, Linda prepares the perfect, romantic evening with the intention of luring her dead husband out into the open and confirming her worst fears.

***

She sat in the empty house, the music stopped, the silence somehow more frightening, but Linda couldn’t move.

It’s not Brian. It’s not that. Don’t be insane.

She had made a list of things to buy from the supermarket, the paper crumpled and sweaty in her hand.

If it’s not Brian, who is it? What is it? Brian’s ghost?

Linda finally knew what to do—she had an insane plan, but that made sense. Insane made perfect sense. Like a lure, she would prepare his favorite meal and a lavish dinner table setting, complete with champagne and candles. He’d always loved coming home to a surprise like this. They always made love afterwards.

Not this time.

The reality of what she was going to do, what Linda believed could happen, made her ill with fright. That it was Brian she wanted to bring out into the open, her loving husband and best friend, didn’t help. Whatever was going on, he was dead, that was a fact. So whoever might join her for dinner was something that should be feared. Something terrifying. Something that couldn’t really be Brian.

She had to do it alone. If nothing else, she needed to get her facts straight and see if she was going mad or just imagining things before maybe reaching out for some kind of help.

Tell someone she was being haunted by her dead husband.

Besides, she had to do everything exactly as it would have been done before, when Brian was alive. That meant on her own.

Later, Linda returned from the shops with her arms laden with goods, and she began preparing. The roast lamb went into the oven at six o’clock as always. Potatoes were peeled and added, coated in oil and salt so that they went brown and crisp as he liked them. For the next hour, Linda laid the table with a white cloth she ironed perfectly, then she put out the best plates and bowls inherited from Brian’s grandmother along with the matching, silver cutlery that was only used on special occasions.

The candles were new, bought that day. Four of them in two pairs and mounted in their ornate holders. She would light them at the very last moment. A bottle of champagne sat in an ice bucket, the condensation beading nicely. The CD player had something mellow and romantic, playing low. For an instant Linda had been going to snap the Pearl Jam disk in half, but she managed to carefully put it back in its case.

The green vegetables were put on the stove to steam very slowly. Brian liked them warm, but almost raw. When Linda was satisfied the water would only simmer, she went to her bedroom and had a shower, dried herself carefully and put on the perfume Brian bought her every year. She dressed in a sheer, clinging evening gown. In the mirror Linda looked stunning, except for the dark rings under her eyes.

‘Nobody’s perfect,’ she told her reflection.

She put on an apron to finish the cooking­—of course, she’d be taking it off before Brian arrived. Linda pulled the roast from the oven, let it sit for five minutes while she gulped down a large glass of wine, then carved the meat into generous servings on two plates. A delicious aroma wafted up around her. Linda didn’t smell it. She was too concerned with trying to stop her hands shaking as she cut. Peas, beans and carrots surrounded the potatoes. Next, Linda heated a packet of gravy in the microwave and smothered everything with it. After all her careful cooking it was a crime, but Brian just loved this gravy. He would have put it on every meal if Linda had let him.

She placed the plates on the table and quickly pulled off the apron, tossing it aside. It needed three attempts to strike a match for the candles. She dropped the first two with fumbling fingers. The champagne cork popped loudly and Linda poured foaming drink into two flutes.

There was nothing left to do. Everything was ready.

Linda composed herself, sat down and started to eat. She cut her food into small portions, making it last. She ate slowly, too. The meat was like cardboard in her mouth and the vegetables were a sour mash. Even the champagne had an unpleasant metallic flavour. She told herself these were the tastes of desperation and bitter foolishness. Of madness. Linda wondered if everything tasted like this when you were going insane.

Time passed with dreadful slowness. Beside her, the gravy on Brian’s plate congealed as it cooled, untouched.

What had she been thinking? How utterly stupid she was. She needed help.

She stopped, gazing sightlessly down at her plate and tried to reconcile what she was doing. Suddenly Linda started sobbing hard and buried her face into a napkin. It felt good to hide in the darkness of the cloth, to keep her eyes closed and let herself go. Linda was feeling a deep and utter despair—beyond anything she could put into words.

The sound of soft footsteps walking around the table made Linda go absolutely still. The room had turned cold instantly, chilling her bare shoulders. Now there was silence. She couldn’t find the courage to lower the napkin to look. Terror balled in her stomach, almost cramping her. Then she heard a chair being pulled back and a rustling of clothing as somebody sat down.

‘I’m sorry I’m late, darling. I just don’t know where the time got to. Please forgive me.’

***

Death Wish is available in several ways. My website here has links to the Amazon US page and thus the Audible audiobook version too. If you’re not in the US, the page should redirect you accordingly. Also, Death Wish is part of collection called Three Creepy Tales and this is the Amazon US link which again gives you the Audible version. However, I released Three Creepy Tales AND the audiobook version through Findaway, which means it’s distributed wide including the audiobook being freely available on Spotify HERE for premium listeners. Enjoy!