Chapter 4 – Intimidation
John Brandon
As soon as Alice was taken away, my wife, Clarice, started her crusade to eliminate the memory of her eldest daughter. Alice's part in her shared bedroom with Cynthia was completely emptied, all of the contents burned. It only took her until the late afternoon to complete her mission. Cynthia and I could only sit in the kitchen, dumbstruck.
Clarice walked into the kitchen at 3:42 pm.
"Mary is dead."
My heart felt like it had stopped beating. Cynthia's jaw dropped. "But she isn't dead. She just went to—"
"Cynthia Elizabeth Brandon, you will speak when spoken to. Mary is dead to us. She will not return. We will be having a funeral two days from now."
I did not say anything. I could not. Once Clarice started, once she got an idea into her head, she could not stop, and it would not disappear. She was probably right – it was probably for the best… but how could it be? Alice was gone, of course, but did she not still have the chance of coming back?
I shook my head, and slumped to the table. I was trapped, like a poor deer caught by hunters at the base of a cliff… Folding my hands, I did the only thing I felt like I could.
I prayed.