The challenge this week was to write a story involving superstition.
Sometimes, you just can’t be too careful.
THE OMEN
“Thank you for being so understanding, Charles. I know this
may all seem like silly superstition to you, but it’s just that following Madam
Zena’s advice has helped me through the toughest times in my life.”
“It’s fine, my dear Vanessa. We’ll arrange to have our
wedding in whatever way will please you.”
“Wonderful, darling. She said the ceremony must begin when
both hands on the clock are pointing upward, so we can get married at either
noon or midnight. That’s the only way we can guarantee that we will be happy.
One thing though. Please don’t mention this to any of your friends or
employees. People will make fun of me and I couldn’t stand that.”
“No, my pet. I won’t tell anyone. What’s important to you is
important to me and I would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable.
No one will ever know about your personal beliefs.”
“Thank you, love, but one last thing. Please remember that
no one can come to our wedding if they have dark hair, a dark beard and
mustache. Madam Zena warned me a man like that would do me great harm.”
“I don’t even know anyone like that, dear heart. I’ll make
sure to honor that request. I would never do anything to frighten you. Shall we
work out the details for our wedding now?”
* * * * *
“Charles, you are the best husband in the world. I’m so
excited about going on a world cruise, but Madam Zena said we have to make sure
of one very important detail.”
“What is that, my sweet?”
“She said for our trip to go smoothly and for us to be
totally safe, our ship’s name must not end with the letter ‘A’. If it does,
then bad luck will follow us for the rest of our lives.”
“But, Vanessa, our trip is already arranged. We are
scheduled to sail on the Aurora and you will love it. Anything you can imagine
is available on the ship and we will be very comfortable.”
“Charles, I cannot set foot on that ship. You know how much
I trust Madam Zena. She’s been my spiritual advisor for years and I’m not going
to start doubting her now.”
“All right, sweetheart. I’ll have my secretary rebook us on
another cruise line and make sure the ship’s name doesn’t end with ‘A’. I want
you to be comfortable and happy.”
“Thank you, dear. Also, please make sure you don’t mention
any of this to your friends and colleagues. I wouldn’t want them to make fun of
me. Make sure that no man with dark hair, a dark beard and mustache comes near
me on our cruise since great harm would be done to me.”
“No harm will ever come to you, my love. I will always keep
you safe.”
* * * * *
“Charles, I’m glad you’re home early. Apparently, it didn’t
take as long at the bank as you had thought it would.”
“No, Vanessa. It took no time at all to add your name to all
my accounts, including the ones I have in the Islands. I also added your name
to the house and my attorney updated my will. It took some time to get all the
paperwork done because of my interest in my corporation, but it’s all been
taken care of. I want to make sure that if anything ever happens to me, you
would want for nothing.”
“You’re so good to me, Charles. Whatever I did to deserve
you, I would do it again a hundred times. By the way, everything is set for our
dinner party this evening, but I need to mention one thing. I checked with Madam
Zena about our having people over and she said bells need to be hung inside all
our doors. That needs to be done so no evil spirits enter along with our
guests. It is a necessary precaution to protect us both. Please don’t tell any
of your friends or colleagues about it since they would laugh at me. Thank you
for making sure you didn’t invite anyone with dark hair, a dark beard and
mustache so no harm would come to me.”
“Of course, honey. We’ll just tell them we love the sound of
bells. The real reason for the bells will be our little secret. You must never
worry, my Vanessa. I will always respect any of your wishes, and I don’t
consider them silly at all.”
* * * * *
“Isn’t this a beautiful suite? Nothing like the Penthouse of
a five-star hotel to help ease the pain. The Chief of Police arranged for me to
stay here for a week while they finish collecting their evidence. They are also
going to have people come in and clean up my house. I never knew there were
companies that specialized in cleaning up after murders. Oh wait. This wasn’t
exactly a murder, now, was it? This was a tragic accident. Right, Madam Zena?”
“Don’t call me that anymore, Van. It’s spooky. Are you sure
the police are going to write this up as an accident?”
“I’m positive, Rochelle. Detective Schooner told me he was
going to report it that way. I simply explained the situation to him. I told
him Charles thought my beliefs were silly and was always trying to cure me of my superstitions, but this
time, it all went horribly wrong. Charles knew I was terrified of a man with
dark hair, dark beard and mustache because my advisor warned me a man like that
would bring great harm to me. I said Charles should never have put on that
disguise and snuck into the house. I told the Detective I guessed it was to try
to show me that warning was nonsense. When I heard a noise and woke up to see
the person I was warned about coming toward me, what could I do but try to
defend myself. The police have to take my word for everything; after all, my
side is the only one they’re going to get. Charles never mentioned you, or any
of my beliefs, to his friends or anyone at his company as I requested.”
“Van, that man with the dark hair and beard story was
brilliant. Was it hard to put the hairpieces on after you shot him?”
“Not at all. He fell on his back, so it was no problem. I
turned out all the lights and sat on our bed holding the gun. It was so easy to
convince Charles I’d seen someone hanging around the house on a couple of
nights, so he gave me the gun. As soon as he stepped into the bedroom doorway
and called my name, I shot him, put the wig, beard and mustache on him, and
then I called the police. You should have seen me. I was inconsolable.
“Should we order room service? It’s on the city, after all.
Charles did have a lot of friends in very high places. I didn’t eat any dinner
because I wanted to make sure I would be ready whenever he came home. We should
order some champagne to go with our meal so we can celebrate. He put my name on
all his accounts and the house, so once all the blood has been mopped up, you
can move in. I love you so much, Rochelle. Now we can be together every day.
Too bad about Charles though. He was an okay guy, I guess, even though he was a
Class A sucker.”
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