Mercy
By Amethyst Turner
On a day when there's nothing left to do but cry
When there's nothing left to drink but tears
When there's nothing left to do but try
To drown ourselves in our worries and fears
There is a man with a knife
He waits in the woods
I'll go with you to meet him
I think that we should
He is called Mercy
He is kind an vicious
Darling don't worry
Life's just a sickness
The lines are all blurry;
Death is delicious
XXX
Davey found Annelise lying in her hospital bed, nursing the baby.
His heart filled with such an intense joy that he nearly cried. Here, here was his family. His wife and a tiny baby boy. And they would go home and start their life together and live happily ever after.
When Anne saw him, she let out a shriek. "Davey!" She cried. Her face lit up, and then crumpled into tears.
Davey ran to her, leaving the door open behind him. He threw his arms around her, taking in her familiar smell. Her skin was shiny and sticky with sweat, her hair stringy and tangled from days without brushing it. But Davey didn't care. Right now, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
"I love you, Annie," he murmured.
Annelise wrapped her free arm around him, her fingernails clutching the back of his shirt. They sat like this for a few minutes, grasping each other for dear life, until Anne broke the silence. "This is Davey Junior," she whispered.
He pulled back to look at his son. Was there a more beautiful baby on the planet? He watched Davey Jr. drink from his mother's breast, his eyes sealed shut and his fragile bones still. He seemed to be an origami baby, folded of the most delicate paper.
"Sweetheart, he's gorgeous," Davey whispered back. He spoke softly -- Annelise seemed to be on the verge of tears. A harsh word might break her.
But she collapsed into tears, anyway. "I know," she sobbed. "I know, I know."
XXX
Amethyst thought crying was weird, because it seemed sort of contagious, the way yawns were. The woman in the bed started crying, and then Davey started crying, then the baby started crying, and now Amethyst felt like she wanted to cry too.
She wasn't sure exactly why. Images of different people flashed across her mind: Minka, Leafy, Orion, Daddy, Mama, Mommy . . . she'd have to go home now, wouldn't she? A tear spilled over on her cheek. Davey's family held each other while they cried. Who would hold Amethyst?
YOU ARE READING
The Catharsis
General FictionIt gets better. Isn't that what they say? Amethyst Turner isn't so sure. She waits and waits, but things only get worse. She sees happy families on TV, with a father and mother that love each other and their kids. They have a dog, and a nice house...
