Walter rarely ever slept soundly-- nightmares and restless sleep plagued him all of his life. But on that day, the last before the final ten murderous days of his life, he had seen her.
"You've grown up, Miss Galvin... so beautifully..." He thought, standing in wait for the doors of the train to open. It had been so long since he spied the smiling brunette with pale green eyes he had seen so many years ago. In those days, she had been just a waddling child, and in an act of kindness he would never forget, she gave him the very doll he carried close to his heart at all times.
There were few sinners in the world that he felt worthy of redemption. Whatever sin that girl may commit, there would always be a special place for her when he woke Mother.
In the crowd of people, the teenage girl who had been cheerfully talking to other, less interesting children her age vanished. The urge to smile was gone in him... he found himself longing to see her again. He realized just how often he sat on the benches in that subway, hoping in the back of his mind that he would see her again, if only just a glimpse, walking by, with her kind lips curled in happiness.
That was the last night he felt happiness, drifting to sleep in the old, creaking dormitory of Pleasant River University, which he shared with another student. Over his heart, he held that shabby doll. Some say sleep is not so different from death-- he liked to think that the moment he truly died was that night, rather than alone and bleeding to death in a jail cell...
It was a happy death, Walter thought. A happy death to end a miserable life.