Author's note:written for the Prompt Table activity on the Paint It Red Forum - prompt: "Blessing in disguise"
(this is a bit dark, so be warned...)
Blessing in disguise
His breakdown had been perfectly understandable under the circumstances. Who would escape unscathed from such a horrible tragedy?
He still felt like he was drowning. There had been so much blood…
The blood of his wife and daughter – his precious little family slaughtered like innocent lambs.
It was his fault. He was the one who killed them.
They kept him inside a locked room. Said he was losing his sanity.
He didn't mind in the least. Losing the few remnants of his sanity was his last hope as a matter of fact.
Then a woman came to talk to him. Her soothing voice somewhat made its way through the turmoil of his brain.
I know you're feeling powerless right now. But you're in control. You have a choice. You can choose to let people defeat you, or you can fight back. You can fight. Or you can give up and die. It's your choice.
Sophie Miller taught him never to give up. He had to fight.
His new purpose in life was finding Red John and killing him – in the slowest, most painful way he could think about.
She had helped him to make his choice, and he would always be grateful for that.