Assassin

New Start

I woke up to sunshine on my eyelids and birds tweeting everywhere around me. I fought against the blinding light and looked around.
Apparently, I was in the middle of the forest and sunlight escaped through the canopy and spilled onto the groud.
“Morning,” John said against my head.
I froze for a second and the memory of last night slowly came back to me, “Morning,” I looked up and kissed him.
John then looked to his side and reached into his bag to pull out something. He handed me the slice of bread.
“Thanks,” I nibbled on the bread and this reminded me of how he took care of me when I was injured. This scenario seemed familiar to me.
John kept stroking my arm while I was eating. When I had finished, we picked up our journey again. We linked hands and enjoy our peaceful walk in the bright forest.
I put a hand on top of my stomach, “Do you think it’s a girl or a boy?” I asked John, smiling.
John beamed at me, and looked at where my hand was placed at, “I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s going to be beautiful like you,”
I blushed, “I wish it will take after you, not only your appearance, but also your personality – you’re everything that I have ever wanted and you’re basically perfect,”
John laughed, “Is this a joke? I’ve killed people; I’m not perfect,”
“But you did that for good,”
“Still it’s not the right thing to do if you put it that way,”
“You have a good heart,”
John just chuckled and smiled silently. I kissed his cheek.
We took a few stops in the forest as it was quite a long journey, and by late afternoon we arrived at our destination. We walked through the remote area and reached the town center. We walked along the busy streets, and I could not resist looking from shops to shops. This reminded me of the first time I met John as John. I smiled to myself.
As it was very crowded in the market, John wrapped a protective arm around me, and I put my hands on my stomach to protect my baby. We walked out of the busy district, and through the countryside.
At last we got to an opening in the forest and a small but pretty cottage stood before us. Climbers with flowers were growing everywhere on the yellowish orange brick walls.
John brought me to the front door and fished out a rusted key from his bag. He unlocked the door and we stood there. I looked around in amazement.
The inside of the cottage was simple but cozy. Light coming in from the windows filled the tiny living room, and the furniture looked a bit dusty. I could see the small but well-installed kitchen from where we were standing, and I noticed two bedrooms in this cottage. Perfect for us and our baby.
“I’ll clean it up a bit,” John said, and let go of my hand. He went to the bathroom and came out with a wet towel. He cleaned a chair and let me sit on it.
“You take a rest; I’ll clean the house,” John kissed me briefly and worked through the house.
“I’ll help you, John,” I said when he was cleaning our bedroom. I was sitting on the double bed which now had clean bed sheet, and John was wiping the lamp.
“It’s okay,” he smiled at me, “Are you hungry? I guess you should eat something; maybe our child needs food too.”
I shook my head, “I’ll eat with you,” I wanted to help John but he would not let me. I could tell he was tired now.
“You can’t starve yourself (Yn),” John headed over to his bag and took out some food for me to eat, “I’m almost done, you know.”
So I nibbled on the food while John finished up the remaining work. Then he joined me on the bed to eat.
“Tomorrow I’ll go to the market to buy food and stuff; it should be pretty safe here so you don’t have to come with me,” John told me when we were lying on the bed, ready to sleep. My back was facing him and he had his arms around me, gently stroking the bump on my stomach.
“But I want to go out and explore the place,” I protested.
John thought for a bit, “Okay then, but stay close to me, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt,”
“You’re overreacting, John,” I chuckled at how nervous he was.
John giggled, and I smiled at how cute he was being.
“I really can’t wait to see how our child will look like,” John suddenly said, and kissed the back of my neck.

The next day, John went out with me and he had his arms around me all the while. We were having a great time; now that I thought of it, we had never gone out like this before. We were always keeping our relationship a secret.
I was talking to John when I felt him tense up and his arm tightened around me all of a sudden.
“John?” I squeezed his hand, “What’s wrong?”
John seemed distracted, looking around, “Err, nothing,” he replied mindlessly.
“There is something,” I insisted, stopping in our track.
John looked down at me, “Really, nothing’s wrong,”
I just stared back at him.
“Okay,” John sighed, “I just thought I saw someone… Familiar.”
“A friend? A family?” I asked excitedly, thinking that there might be someone who John knew was still alive.
“I don’t think so,” he shook his head, “Anyway, it’s nothing.”
I gave up questioning him, and we continued shopping. But I could tell something was up as John’s mind seemed to be in somewhere else all day.

The next morning, I woke up in an empty bed. I shot up in panic, ignoring the dizziness. Then I saw a note on my bedside table.
“I’m out and will be back soon, John xoxo”
I read the note again and again, thousands of possibilities of what he might be doing swirling in my head. What was he hiding from me? I knew something was wrong; I was right yesterday.
I just ate some simple breakfast and lied in bed; I was feeling tired and I could not get my mind off John.
Later I looked around the house and found John had left his key behind. Yesterday he made another key for me and he had forgotten to bring his with him today. I decided to rest on the sofa in the living room so I could open the door for him when he was back.
I must have fallen asleep on the sofa; the sky was almost completely dark when I was woken up by knocking at the door. I went to put on the lamp and opened the door for John.
“John—” I began worriedly when I had opened the door, but I stopped immediately when I realized that it was not John.
It was a gang of scary-looking men.
I tried to close the door but the massive man in the front stopped me. He pulled me out of the cottage harshly.
“What do you want?” I asked in a small voice, as there was no way to escape. Another men had blocked my way of going back into the cottage.
“Do you know John Grimes?” the man who just pulled me out of the cottage asked.
I was not sure how to answer him, so I just stayed silent.
“I saw you with him in the market yesterday,” he stated, “Are you his wife?”
I shook my head.
“But you’re pregnant!”
“We’re not married,” I whispered.
The men laughed, and some made some rude remarks. I ignored them.
“It’s his child though?” the man asked again.
I nodded.
“We won’t hurt you if you follow our orders,” he said, turning around, “Now come with us.”
I did not respond, and just stood there like a statue.
He turned to look at me and raised his voice, “I said, come with us if you don’t want us to hurt you and your baby!”
I shuddered and my hands shot up instinctively to protect the bump in my stomach. I followed him, as I could not escape.