"Do not look for my heart anymore;
the beasts have eaten it."
- Charles Baudelaire, Flowers of Evil
Gluttony (noun): greedy or excessive indulgence.
___
NIMA YOUNG HAD KILLED ALL HER HUSBANDS.
The first one she killed because he was a fool.
The second one she killed because he was a bore.
The third one she killed because she could.
And the fourth? She killed him because she had nothing left to lose.
Nima Young tried to conquer a kingdom, but she failed. Now all that's left for her are the ruins of the city that she tried to build.
Now, she sits with a straight back in the lobby of a police station. There is blood splattered on her peach blouse, but she keeps her face neutral. Safe. Don't let them know what you're thinking. Protect yourself at all costs. These are the rules that Nima Young lived by, once.
Wealth. Power. Influence. The things that she once held so dear felt like barbs underneath her skin. Nima Young wanted the world, but the world didn't want anything to do with her.
An officer approached her. Nima didn't look up.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"Are you sure you want to be doing this?" His voice was low, conspiratorial.
Nima Young lifted up her wrists. "I, Nima Young, have killed many people, including my previous four husbands. I give myself up to the law. May justice be served."
The officer hesitated. Nima continued to sit with her wrists outstretched. Finally, the man brought out a pair of handcuffs and clamped them on her wrists.
Nima Young was left in a cell. She thought about the story of Icarus, and the way that her last husband had his grip around her throat.
___
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP-
"Hello?"
"Where is she?"
"Well if it isn't Stella fucking Knox."
"Don't fuck with me, Pascal."
"It's too late."
"What?"
"You took everything from me. Now I've taken everything from you. You'll find her body in the warehouse."
___
STELLA KNOX WAS ONCE AN ANGEL.
Then she fell.
But the thing is, when she did, she brought everyone she loved with her.
___
IT TOOK STELLA KNOX TWO DAYS TO FIND HER COUSIN.
When she did, she put a bullet in his head.
Then she put one in her own.
___
1995-2016
In memory of Stella Knox, loving sister and daughter.
She will forever be in our memories.
