The Ragdoll

The Question

Oliver was waiting by the door with his arms crossed when Emily entered the apartment, breathing heavily and still slightly shook up.

"How'd it go?" Oliver asked.

"They're dead," she replied, taking off her bandana.

"What's that?" Oliver asked. She was pointing to her neck. She assumed there were marks or bruises from the bungee cord that were extremely visible.

"I didn't say they died easily," she responded.

Oliver sighed.

"Sarah woke up while I was putting her to bed. She had an extremely interesting question for me"

"Oh yeah? What was it?"

"She asked me why we kill."

"Oh my god. Did you answer her?"

"I thought this was more of an Emily question."

Emily looked passed Oliver and saw Sarah laying back on the small couch, staring back at her, confused as to why she hadn't yet gotten an answer.

Oliver moved to the side and Emily stalked over to the small girl and kneeled beside her.

"I heard you had an interesting question," she said.

"Yeah." Sarah whispered back.

The two stared at each other. Sarah with confusion in her eyes, and sympathy with Emily's.

"Sarah," Emily began. "Sometimes grown-ups do things that even they don't understand, but they have to do it. It's like there's a person living inside each one of us that gets louder as we get older, telling us what to do and where to go. Mine and Oliver's people are louder than most people's people. Ours shout at us and tell us that we have to take people's lives."

"Why do you listen to them?" Sarah replied.

"Sometimes I wonder that myself. Sometimes it keeps me awake at night. Sarah, I'm a killer, and so is Oliver. I guess it's just what we're good at. What's something you're good at?"
"Drawing. I like to draw."

"And so you draw, right? It's what you're good at. When you're good at something you have to do it, or else, what's the point? Oliver and I, we might not always kill. Maybe someday we'll find out that we're good at something else and we'll do that. Killing people isn't a good thing, Sarah, and I'm sorry that you have to be around people that do it. When you grow up, I hope that you don't find out that you're good at it too."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Emily kissed Sarah on the forehead.

"Get some sleep, darling."

Emily got up to walk away, but Sarah called her back.

"Emily?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you no matter what you're good at."

There was something about that sentence that pierced Emily's soul like a knife.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

She told Sarah that she loved her back, and took Oliver into the back room so she could throw herself into his arms and cry herself to sleep.