Enigma

Chapter 4

The number forty entered, loitered, and resonated in Jada's ear canal as she was only confused as to what I was referring to. Lines that formed in between her eyebrows created deep trenches on her forehead. Her luscious skin grew tighter and tighter as her thoughts made laps over her head. My face resembled a semi-permanent grin that I could not smooth out. Something in me wanted to reach reality and trade places for a limited time.

"Forty? Forty what? What does that mean?" Jada asked with fear in her voice.

"Why does my wife want to leave in a hurry?" I added.

She turned around and ran into the kitchen where she freed the door that led to the backyard. Before even knowing, I was already in pursuit. It was like a scene in the safari where a cheetah chased the gazelle. I was so close to her I could smell the Listerine used after she woke up. My wife was in a panic, but did not know the extent of what she had seen. She ran as if she was neck-and-neck, with her opponent, at the last ten meters in a triathlon. It was only when she reached the end of our yard that she turned around to face me. There was no more real estate to advance to.

A shriek and an exaggerated scream was shot out from Jada's mouth.

"Who are you?!" She asked.

I walked closer to her and spoke with a calming, but inviting voice.

"Baby. BABY! Baby, I am your husband. I'm the love of your life," I mentioned.

"You can't be my husband! My husband doesn't do shit like this. My husband would not hurt me," Jada explained.

After a brief silence, I ended with, "Our vows..."

My body is filled with the feeling of abandonment and degradation. A veil covered me as if it were a thick blanket. I was absent from my body and could not grasp reality. The surface was beyond my reach. All I could do is watch as I am just a passenger in my own vessel. The sensation of sinking with the light getting darker was apparent. No longer was I in control. My heart raced as if I snorted caffeine. I drifted into the abyss until I was allowed to return to gain access to my own body.

Again I repeated, "Our vows..."

"Our vows don't mean shit if you aren't who you were when you said them to me. I can't believe this! I can't!" Jada explained.

After her statement, I began to become unhinged and unbalanced. Her words entered my skull, but never came to me as the receiver. Whatever has taken ownership of my body took possession of anything entering. Unfortunately, it was the same for my motor-skills. It was as if I was in a nightmare that I could not control.

With heightened excitement and passion, I turned to the right. Without any reluctance, I stretched my arm to reach our rake that was planted in the grass. At this moment and time, I was fresh out of disappointment. I looked into Jada's face and then anything visual faded into black as if my own brain did not want me to witness my own actions. At this point, forty was no longer a pending digit. It was forty-one that I was now seeking.

                                        ***

With nothing but the clothes on my back and the money in my wallet, I continued on the interstate. My residence was no longer a place I could call home. I had a job I could no longer be employed to and a wife I could no longer share my love with. She has betrayed me by not wanting to be with me. I am a victim of my own pleasures. Hours upon hours were in my rearview mirror. The dusk's twilight from the sun was swatted by each and every street light I passed. Every minute darkened the sky's brightness by a single degree.

Being trapped by my own darkness, I became lethargic. The only motel in sight, that the car's GPS displayed, was the only one within 18 miles. Regrettably, it is where I ended my night. Sweet Pine Inn was not so sweet nor was it worthy of being rated half of a star. Pulling into the rugged parking lot, I was met with its turbulent terrain. Pot-holes, rocks, and whatever trash left behind, made the car seem like it was in a bounce house.

The property was bathed in different array of hues. The walls were stained in rust from the runaway streams stemming from faulty sprinkler heads. Vanishing green paint told a story of how neglected the building was. Its true nature wanted to be known, but somewhere down the timeline, it severed ties with hope. The building itself was two-stories, that housed fourteen rooms per floor. Each door on the second floor was married with strong browns and forest greens that were the result from mold and algae. Both floors were guarded by hand rails that stretch across the building. They were flimsy and wobbly at a glance. The rails could not survive a landing from a moth.

After checking in with the front desk clerk and retrieving my keys, I settled in room 4. It almost resembled a small efficiency. Everything was conveniently at an arm's reach. With all the lights turned on from the low quality fixtures, the room still remained gloomy and drab. The lonely walls started to drain me mentally and reminded me that I have not consumed anything for the day.

Defeated from hunger, I decided to venture out of my room to a lonely and shady diner that was across the street. The eatery looks like it sees no more than ten people on any given week. With the room key in hand, I walked towards where the staircase is located. At the same time, a young woman was traveling the opposite direction. She held a large duffel bag over her shoulder with a phone clenched between her cheek. The other hand pulled a small roller-bag that seemed to have seen more miles than this deserted town had space for. She looked as if she was in a hurry to get into her room. As our proximities closed in, I did not hesitate to give her a nod. My eyes quickly captured her graceful, but aggressive strides. My neck aligned towards her direction as she walked past me on the second floor. Her fragrance grasped my neck as if I wore a noose just to stop me in my tracks.

I was under heavy hypnosis. Without any recollection or input, I was on the prowl and she was being trailed. The young woman ended up in room 11. It was clear that the woman was flustered with her baggage as she tossed them into the room without even entering. It was apparent that more luggage was waiting patiently as she hurriedly headed towards the staircase at the opposite end of the floor. Like a puppy, I followed her train of pheromones to the parking lot with another type of hunger that I did not intend to have. The moment her hand touched the door handle of the car, I pounced like a jaguar. I took advantage of her freedom and marked her as my next slave to my morbid pleasures. With a closed fist, I knocked her unconscious. We then slithered back up the staircase we came from, unbothered by potential witnesses, where we took possession of an unlocked room.

It was room 14 for my 41st at last.