Unnecessary Revenge

Unnecessary Revenge(Joseph Logsdon) Unnecessary Revenge
By Joseph Logsdon
Edna stood in the dark street, terrified and completely confused. People passed her by, oblivious to her obvious fear and pain. It was night, the darkest night imaginable. She couldn’t remember her name, where she worked, or even where she lived. The crowd stared, quietly laughing at her misery. They just didn’t seem to understand what she was going through. Edna felt like a sideshow attraction. Given the circumstances, she couldn’t feel like anything else. After all, she had just murdered someone.
As time progressed, the crowd grew unusually large. Edna didn’t say one word; she simply stared back at them. She was empty inside. She didn’t feel happiness, or joy, or anything worth feeling. Her capacity to feel pleasure had been taken from her. An image kept repeating itself in her mind, the image of the dead woman. It was murder, plain and simple. Edna knew that, just as she knew the consequences for committing such an act.
The police finally arrived. Worried that the situation would get out of hand, they quickly cleared the area. There were two officers; one was quite short, while the other was very large. They approached Edna, both feeling very nervous.
“Are you okay?”
Edna didn’t respond. She continued to stare into space, obviously unaware of her surroundings. It was clear that the officers weren’t getting anywhere, so they decided to take her to the local hospital. Amazingly, she didn’t even put up a fight as they guided her to the vehicle. Edna remained silent as she was being driven to the hospital. On the way there, both officers were equally unnerved by the unusual situation. They didn’t even bother to look back, fearful of what they might see.
The hospital was dark and uninviting as she walked inside. The officers handed Edna to the nurses, relieved to be rid of her. They gently guided her to the second floor, where a doctor was waiting for her. The walls seemingly moved closer as Edna entered the small office. The doctor smiled at Edna, unusually happy to see her. He looked into her eyes, vigorously searching for some kind of response.
“What’s your name?”
“Edna,” she finally said.
“Well, Edna, what seems to be the problem?”
Edna didn’t respond. She stared at the floor, still not quite certain of her surroundings. She sighed, her vision blurry and out of focus. She turned away from him, suspicion in her eyes.
“Are you hurt? The police are worried about you; everyone is worried about you. You were standing in the street, half out of your mind. Now, why would an attractive woman, who should be in the prime of her life, be so miserable?”
“I hear voices, many of them dangerous. They tell me to do things, horrible things,” Edna squealed, slowly covering her face.
“Things? What kind of things?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“If it will help you get better, then yes, I want to know,” he exclaimed.
“Very well, I’ll tell you,” she replied.
Edna proceeded to tell him about what happened, and as she spoke, the memory came back to her. Edna was standing in her living room, eagerly waiting for her husband to arrive home. Always the dutiful housewife, she had already prepared dinner. Edna loved her husband with all her heart. The thought of living without him, made her feel weak and sick. He was everything to her, and as far as anyone knew, she was everything to him.
He was unusually late. Concerned about his whereabouts, Edna thought about calling the police. Just as she was getting ready to pick up the phone, the door aggressively opened. Her neighbor, Barbara, was standing in the doorway. Barbara had always been a kind and loyal friend. Something was different about the way she carried herself. Not only did she appear angry, she also seemed quite violent.
“We need to talk,” Barbara huffed, slamming the door behind her.
“Talk? Talk about what?”
“You know what,” Barbara exclaimed.
Edna didn’t respond. Barbara was no longer the person she knew. She slowly backed away, steadily reaching for the phone. Barbara said nothing; she simply smiled. She was obviously disturbed.
“Are you calling Jeff?” Barbara asked.
“What’s it to you?”
“He won’t answer you. You’re finished, all washed-up. What he ever saw in you, I’ll never know,” Barbara hissed.
“What’s this all about? I’ve never seen you act this way before. It’s scary, quite honestly,” Edna replied.
“You should be scared. Jeff doesn’t love you, he never did. Why do you think he’s running so late? I’m the only one for him. You could cook the perfect dinner, it wouldn’t make any difference to him. He’s mine, and mine alone. I’ve been chasing him for years. He’s constantly watching me, always giving me things. I must add, there’s no end to his generosity,” she chuckled.
Edna couldn’t stand to listen to her any longer. Her words were poisonous, far too poisonous to ignore. Her heart started to beat faster and faster. Filled with anger, Edna didn’t hesitate to defend herself.
“Why should I believe you? Jeff would never cheat on me; he knows what that would do to my family. You know what you are? Just a whore, and not a very good one, at that. I’m twice the woman you’ll ever be. You’ve been jealous ever since we moved here. What do you take me for, some kind of idiot? Aside from what you’ve told me, what proof do you have, really?”
Barbara removed a photograph from her pocket. In the photo, she was kissing Jeff, zealously rapping her tongue around his mouth. Edna paused, defenseless against the overwhelming evidence.
“Do you remember when we first met, the day you decided to visit my house?”
“Why?”

“The minute I saw Jeff, I knew I wanted him. I looked at him, he looked at me. We were together, just me and him. I told him to leave you, and sure enough, he agreed. He refused to tell you himself, the coward. He sent me to do his dirty work. So, what’s the verdict, did I do good?”
Edna didn’t respond. She started to shake, uncontrollably so. She gazed at Barbara, the deepest hatred in her eyes. Barbara stared back, her eyes full of bewilderment. Edna leapt forward, loudly screaming and crying. She tackled Barbara and forced her to the floor. Barbara screamed, uncanny in her ability to call for help. No matter how loud she got, it was a useless attempt.
Edna placed her arms around her throat. Barbara squealed, thirsty for air. The screams became moans, the moans became gasps. It was clear, Edna was killing Barbara. Barbara glared at the ceiling, the darkness overtaking her. Edna loosened her hands, satisfaction in her vengeful eyes.
Edna breathed faster and faster. She gazed at her hands, the guilt of a thousand murderers overtaking her fragile mind. There was no blood, and yet, the blood was everywhere. On her hands, on her feet, in her mouth. She couldn’t breathe, not while knowing what she had done to poor Barbara.
Edna left the house. She wandered the streets, just waiting for someone to rob and kill her. Sadly for Edna, that person never came. Rain poured down on her, but it wasn’t a pretty type of rain. It was an ugly rain, twisted in its nature. Edna felt ugly, inside and out.
Edna opened her eyes. The doctor stared at her, enamored by the story he had heard. Edna no longer appeared dazed or confused. By medical standards, she had become very alert. The doctor opened his mouth, and when he did, nothing came out. He was speechless, at a loss for words.
“Well, don’t you believe me?”
“Oh, sure, I believe you. It seems to me, you let your emotions get the better of you. You realize, of course, that I’m going to call the police,” he stated.
“I’d be surprised if you didn’t,” Edna replied
There was a sudden knock at the door. The doctor, although confused, reluctantly answered it. As soon as the door opened, Jeff barged into the room. He pushed the doctor to the floor, the most frustrated look on his face. He grabbed Edna and pinned her against the wall.
“Why did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Why did you kill Barbara?”
“The better question would be, why did you cheat on me?”
“I didn’t cheat on you. What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking you,” Edna replied.
There was a sudden look of realization on his face. Jeff suddenly loosened his grip, tears overpowering his sense of strength. He felt sick, unnaturally sick. He had carried the secret for so long, it had nearly destroyed him.
“I should’ve told you from the beginning,” Jeff stated.
“About what?”
“About Barbara,” he answered.
“What about her?”
“She had been stalking me for months. She would follow me to work, to school, just about everywhere I went. She had this crazy idea that I was having an affair with her. Where she got that idea, I don’t know. It almost got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. You were so busy with the kids, I didn’t want to bother you,” he confessed.
“But what about the photograph, the one she showed me?”
“That was Photoshopped, the same as everything else she sent me. I’ve been receiving those kind of things for months. From what I understand, her family has a history of mental illness. I should’ve told you about her. I guess, in the end, she still got her revenge,” Jeff stated.
Several moments later, the police arrived. They handcuffed Edna, charged her with murder. Jeff watched in horror as she was escorted out of the hospital. She managed to look back at him, thankful that he had remained loyal to her. As Edna approached the vehicle, a reporter asked her a question.
“Do you regret killing her?”
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life,” she responded.
The End