IN THIS TOWN, OWLS DON'T HOOT AFTER MIDNIGHT

The night you killed Jerome started as a normal day but by 2am you were still wide awake. You had the new kitchen knife under your pillow.

You flashed your torch at Jerome's face. He was sleeping peacefully, farting and snoring carelessly but you were used to it. The smell hit your nose but you did not wave furiously to brush it away. You looked at his hands that were always hitting you, grabbing you and threatening you. At night they were only used to scratch his buttocks.

You slowly moved the torch light back to that ugly and sloppy mouth that was always grunting "I am your husband" in your ear as you looked at the ceiling. During those moments, his manhood that pumped in and out of you felt like sandpaper. You only felt relief when his buttocks stiffened and the sperm hit the inside of your vagina like a jet spray.

"Useless sperm" you cursed mentally that night and a bout of nausea hit you wringing the tears out of your eyes. You sobbed quietly looking at the colossal being sleeping next to you. You muscle man, your gym boy, your handsome boy had turned out to be a monster and a liar.

Jerome was barren and you had found out that afternoon. The broom he always used to beat you had led you to the evidence. As you passed it next to the bed, it kept going under so you knelt down to sweep the dust from there as well. But the dust didn't come alone, it came with an envelope. A medical report. A sperm analysis. The man who was always strangling you and threatening to leave you for not having kids, was useless. Not even a single sperm was swimming in his nutsack.

You cried all day but still warmed his dinner when he came home after midnight. He ate, burped and threw a fork at you for staring at him too much. That's when you went to the kitchen and fingered the new knife. There was a demon in Jerome and you were going to exorcise it.

But first you had put warm water for him in the bathroom and laid out his favorite plaid boxer. You didn't bother to wear anything as he would slap you for making it hard for him to put children in you. As soon as you laid down next to him, he jumped on top of you and as he grunted in your ear your body jerked with silent laughter. He thought you were enjoying it. You coughed trying to keep the laughter inside when he squeezed his buttocks and fell to the side but you didn't move just like he always ordered you to. "So that you don't scare the sperm" he always said before snoring off into his dreams.

No, you didn't lay down long that night. You stood up and grabbed the pee bucket from under the bed and scooped the useless seed out of your womanhood into it wiping your hands on a bedsheet. You were careful not to awaken the sleeping demon lest he made Jerome agressive. So you lay back down and listened to him snore till you dozed off but woke up at exactly 2am. God must have known you were doing his work.

You picked the torch and shone it directly in your lover's face, he grumbled a bit and turned to his side. The liquor he always took before coming home had lulled him into deep slumber but it was time to wake him up for his exorcism. You stood up quietly and propped the torch on the bedside table for proper lighting. Jerome had mumbled in his sleep and turned to lay on his back while letting out an enormous fart. "Bloody idiot" you cursed as you picked up the knife.

In the silence of the night, you tiptoed to his side of the bed and held the knife above him. The torch had illuminated the room eerily and you swear you saw his soul attempt to leave his body. You closed your eyes and with all your strength, you rammed the sharp blade into the soft flesh under his rib cage. The knife sunk into his body but you jerked it out as the devil in him gave out a piercing cry. Sharp enough to cut the night into half.

"Adut what have you done?" He cried out in confusion and fear as the blood oozed out of his body. Still unable to see his impending death, Jerome stood up with all his might and grabbed you by the neck. You let out a squeal and he squeezed even tighter. "I can't breath Jerome" you pleaded between muffled breaths but he banged your head on the wall with each sentence you made. The demon had awoken and it was going to kill you.

But wait, you felt something in your hands, the knife! The Gods were still on your side. They had reminded you to save yourself from this miserable demon. With renewed vigor, you sank that piece of steel into his stomach once more and pulled it out. His eyes opened wide in suprise and he said your name out gently.

"Adut"

"Yes Jerome"

"You have killed me"

"No Jerome, I have killed the demon inside you"

His hands let go of your neck. The demon had run away. He started falling back onto the bed and you watched without emotion what you had just done. The exorcism was complete. What remained was a dying man. You were now a murderer but surprisingly you felt no remorse. Just the feeling of satisfaction running through your body. You realized you should have killed Jerome earlier on.

The neighbors had heard the screams and were banging on the door to your one bedroom. You had not even realized you were screaming for help as Jerome banged your head on the wall. People were here to help you, to help a murderer and their knocking woke you back to reality. A sharp sting in your eye directed your hands to your face. You felt a wetness and then a sharp pain in your head. Slowly staggering into the living room, you knew you couldn't go to prison. Not because of Jerome. So you held the knife to your wrist and slashed. You let out a deafening scream and fell to the ground. The last thing you heard was the sound of the door breaking.

Today, six months after you exorcised your lover, you look the judge in her eyes and tell her you are not guilty.

You tell her you acted out of fear and self defense. Your lawyer has briefed you on the words to say but it's not like you are lying. Even your neighbors defend you. They know Jerome was beating you everyday for being childless so it's understandable for him to try killing you after you saw the medical report.

Your lawyer says;

"Your honor his attempt to kill her was out of shame and a broken ego on realizing his secret was out"

His lawyer says;

"Your honor she is a cold blooded murderer who killed her lover out of anger and selfishness then tried to cover it up by slashing her wrist"

They are both right but only you and Jerome know the truth and he is not here to tell them. Dead men tell no tales.

His family and a few other people shout murderer at you but you stay calm and the tears continue to flow. They don't know you are holding onto your lawyers words like a rosary. At his request, you take off your scarf and show the judge your head. She gasps. A good sign.
You continue with the exhibition. Slowly taking off your blouse, you show the nation the scars on your back, hold up your hand so they can see the missing fingernails, turn around so they can witness the panga prints on your stomach from when Jerome threatened to split you open and hatch your eggs himself. You start to unbutton your skirt to show them more but the judge says "That's enough."

Jerome's mother attacks you as you leave the courtroom but police holds her back. She promises to kill you, to hunt you and to take her son's property. You sneer at her naivete. Her son had nothing, even the fork he threw at you on the night of his death was bought by you. You leave the family screaming obscenities and a taxi drives you back to your one bedroom in the suburbs. The smell of blood lingers in the bedroom but you pack your belongings swiftly.

It's 9pm when the truck sets off to your new location. A new place, a new house, a new district where very few people know you and your story.

No one knows that the night you killed Jerome, you had both heard an owl hoot after midnight. He had come to the kitchen where you were warming his dinner, stood in the doorway and said;

"In this town, owls don't hoot after midnight. Today, this owl must be announcing every abortion you have ever done".

You had stared at him silently when the owl got to ten hoots and he laughed.