I've always seen translucent numbers over people's heads, ever since birth. I've never really questioned what the numbers mean or asked if other people saw them. I just tried to ignore them. Though it's really hard to have conversations with people while those numbers are just floating there like halos or something. I sometimes find myself staring at the numbers instead of paying attention to the conversation.
Most people have a 0, some even have a 1, but those are mostly convicts. My girlfriend has 37. 37 I know right 37 seven seems like a pretty big number compared to everyone else's 1 or 0. I haven't asked her about it, because, well you know why.
The day I found out what the numbers meant started off as the best day ever. I was going to propose to my girlfriend Samantha, but Mary, my mom, wasn't having it. We had got into a very emotional debate. I was trying to convince her to at least let me propose to her. I get that I'm only seventeen right now, but if I propose to her now it would mean a whole year to plan our marriage. Now that we can get married. So we compromised, I would propose now and wouldn't get married until I had my mother's blessing no matter how long it would take.
After an exchange of "I love you" I walked to "the spot", it this place in the woods me and Samantha goes to discuss things when we argue, and sometimes just to think. As I was walking I called her to meet me there as soon as she could. She didn't answer so I left a message. Then I witnessed the worst thing that any human has ever witnessed, a murder. Sadly that wasn't the worst part, the worst part was watching the number over the assassins head change from zero to one. My heart shattered in that split second; I felt like I had died inside. I didn't know what I was going to do, well I knew I was going to break up with her, but I didn't know how, or if I'll tell her what I saw. I called my mom to let her know that there wasn't going to be a future with Samantha. Then I continued to walk.
I told her to meet me here two hours ago and she's still not here. I wonder what's taking her so long. I questioning why I even started dating her. Then she walked into my view wearing the most beautiful short black dress I had ever seen. And then I remembered why I started dating her. She is the most beautiful angel I've ever seen. 'Well, that beautiful angel killed thirty-seven people.' My conscious reminds me. Somehow I forgot about that small little detail. Who am I kidding I couldn't forget that if I tried. And trust me I tried my hardest. But I just can't get that image out of my hand. The way the zero turned into a one as soon as he pulled the trigger. I was so deep in my thoughts I didn't even notice she had walked up to me and kissed me. "Hey, babe." She greets me. "Hey, what took you so long?" I question. She hesitates, then replies, "Oh uh I was um. I was um working on a surprise for. I can't tell you just yet because you know it's a surprise. I would have dropped everything and came right over, but my brother listened to the voicemail and told me it wasn't an emergency."
I could tell she was lying. She avoids eye contact when she's lying. I looked above her head and saw that her number was no longer thirty-seven, it was thirty-eight.
I gasped. "What's wrong" she almost yells looking up and behind her.
"I thought I saw a bird," I say calmly. "Oh okay?" She says confused. "So that surprise when will I get it?" I question "soon baby soon" she soothes. "So why did you want to meet?" She asked. "I wanted to ask you a very important question" It was true I did want to ask her an important question. At first, it was "Will you marry me?" Now it's "How many people did you kill?" Well not exactly like that. I don't really know how I'm going to ask her. Maybe I should have been thinking of that instead of trying to figure out what was taking her so long.
"Alex, baby are you okay?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure out how to word this question."
"Oh okay, take your time"
"I have a secret I've been keeping from you. So for as long as I could remember I've been seeing these almost invisible numbers floating above people's head."
She's looking at me like I'm crazy now.
"Most people have zero, some even have one. But you, you have a thirty-eight. Yesterday it was thirty-seven. And I know that they mean how many people that person has killed."
"What?" she screams at me
"Hello from the other side!" Oh, my goodness what now? "Hello is this Alex Lopez?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"I'm Detective Marshall. I hate to inform you that your mother has been murdered. If I was guessing purely off the crime scene I would say she died about an hour ago.
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, my girlfriend just killed my mother.
"You bastard!" I scream "you killed my mother. Why would you that?"
"It was a job. I'm sorry. I was supposed to kill both of you, but something unexpected happened. I fell in love with you."
"Bullshit! If you were really in love with me you wouldn't have killed my mother."
"I had no choice, I have no choice. If don't kill you they will kill me. I'm sorry I really am. And to show you how sorry I am." She pulled out a gun and my whole life flashed before my eyes. I was terrified; I thought she really was going to kill me. But she turned the gun around and shot herself right in the forehead.
I tried to kill myself right after she did, But it didn't work every day since has been a struggle.
"Thank You for Your Statement Alex. Now all you have to do Is State your Full Government Name for Legal Purposes. And you're free to go."
"Okay, my name is Alexandria Kelsey Lopez."
