Catharsis II: An Army of Words (AUDITIONS)

Applicant #60: Stabbed In The Back

As a solution to overpopulation, a system was created. When a person died, he is reincarnated. The amount of deaths became identical with the quantity of newborns. The population never exceeded a single soul. The government made it impossible for the public to know how this system became a reality. Physical features, personalities, and almost everything that we are became reincarnated as if we are cloned, but glitches in the system happened, and I was one of them. Memories of our previous lives supposedly die with us, but mine stayed intact.

I observed Nathalie for the third time this morning. She's still the same woman I knew, the woman I loved. Her looks, her personalities, nothing has really changed.

I stood beside her and helped her chop the onions. She kissed me on the cheek, and I just stared at her – smiling. At first, I thought developing a relationship with her would be hard, but it turned out to be so easy. She would always say that I'm the man she always dreamt of, and that I was perfect in every way. It became easier for me to date her, especially when she thought of me as the perfect guy for her. She became my girlfriend, and after two months together, I got her pregnant.

"Michael, I already got this," she remarked, waiting for me to drop the knife I was holding. Instead of leaving the task to her, I leaned and kissed her on the cheek, and then I resumed chopping. She giggled. "Fine. Just don't chop up more than two onions."

For the fourth time, I observed Nathalie again. She visited my dreams lately, but I knew those dreams weren't just a product of imagination. Those were memories, memories of my previous life.

Nathalie was standing in front of a man. I knew him. His name was Eric. Their eyes somehow told me that both of them were happy. They stared at each other for a minute before they started kissing. After that, they mouthed entrancing words of affection, words that can only be heard from a couple, words that are expressed by their love.

A woman saw and heard them. She was Eric's wife, and Nathalie's best friend. I remembered her very well. Her name was Amanda. She cried as she realized that all this time, she was stabbed in the back. She was pregnant, but she lost her unborn baby from too much stress.

At an almost simultaneous moment, Nathalie and I faced each other. "I haven't been completely honest with you, honey," I confessed, pulling her for a hug. "Before you, I was married."

She almost cursed, but I calmly hushed her. Without her knowing, I slowly positioned the knife I was holding at her back. In just a heartbeat, I pushed it inside her, twisted it, pulled it out, and repeatedly stabbed her in the back as tears came streaming down from my eyes.

"I was married to the man you stole from me."