The Merderer

I.

Tuesday.
September 22, 2038.

The air was cold. Really cold. Marilyn pulled her double jacket tighter around her. Not because of the freezing weather but because she felt a sudden chill in her blood. She knew something was coming. Something huge.

Winter in Ozark was becoming unbearable for everyone. Just this morning, the weather man reported a minus 28 degrees centigrade. She hurried to get to the bar. Her job was an easy one. Her shifts started at 8pm and she had never been late until today. One of the kids she babysat had misplaced his shoes in her house so she had to search every nook and every cranny which was what led to her being late to work. The search had been futile though, the shoes were still missing.

She babysits mornings and afternoons every weekdays from 9'o clock a.m. to 7'o clock p.m, weekends would also have been included but she had to go to the bar in the early mornings. All couples in her neighborhood trusted her with their kids. She's pretty young but she had a talent when it came to showing kids love and affection. Maybe it was because Marilyn couldn't bear the thought of having her own child.

"Good evening Toad," she said, smiling at the male cleaner. He was the only one she really talked to among the bar staff. The others were snobs.

Lora, a girl who did the morning shifts during the weekdays was the worst of them all. She and Marilyn didn't see each other frequently but Lora still made it a job to make life for Maril miserable. She was prettier and smarter and more popular than Maril. Their boss even preferred Lora to serve the big shots. So Maril always wondered what the problem was with her. She didn't want any trouble.

There was also Fuschia. She was okay. Her job was to spice things up in the bar. By dancing and doing some other dirty jobs. Fuschia was a bitch, a real bitch. Many times, married women picked fights up with her in the bar. They accused her of sleeping with their husbands. Fuschia was never even moved. She laughed at them and told them they couldn't keep their husbands to themselves 'cause they were ugly as fuck. Those were her exact words. But Fuschia wasn't mean to her. Heck, she acted like Maril didn't exist.

"Yo wadup Marilyn," he beamed at her. Looking closely at him, he actually resembled a toad. His grotesque features made it so. Big bulgy eyes, large cheeky cheeks, large feet. Actually everything about Toad was large. But, he had a big darling heart. And that made him handsome to Marilyn.

"Cold weather we have today," remarked Toad.

"Tell me about it," replied Marilyn.

She went to her tiny little locker and kept her stuff inside. Makeup not included. She always wondered why women even bothered to use make-up. It's hiding behind a mask. She had nothing against make-up though but her thoughts were, if you're pretty, you don't need artificial methods to make you prettier. Marilyn had a pretty rough childhood.

Soon enough regular customers began to arrive. She didn't familiarize herself with customers because she didn't deem it necessary. The rush of the night came in soon enough. She no longer had the time to notice who the customers were or the funky way they dressed. At one point in the night, a female customer threw up. Toad wasn't available so she had to clean it up and send the woman away in a taxi.

At 11'o clock pm, an hour till the closing time, a short man limped in. The only people still in the bar were drunk so Marilyn was the only one that noticed the man. He limped over to the service area and requested vodka. She did as she was told. Mixed his drink in a conservative way. The man looked suspicious to her. He wore a terribly old suit and his shoes were quite battered. His hairdo was a mess.

Frankly he looked like he hadn't eaten in three months. If he hadn't worn his big oversized suit, his bones would most probably be visible. He snapped his fingers to the beat of the terrible music playing while he sipped his drink. 

"You gonna stare at me all night long?" he sneered at her. "I know I'm quite something to look at but stop you're making me blush." The man chuckled.

Marilyn kept staring at the weird man.

The clock struck 12 midnight and the man still sat there. Sipping slowly. It was like he was in a world of his own. She didn't make any move to alert him of the time. Once, she had also been unaware of the world. The man reminded her of how she was in the inside. How her spirit was. His tattered frame and outlook was similar to the empty feeling she felt. He was cute. Obviously, he had been a heartthrob some decades ago. But time and tide had left him this way.

"Do you think this town okay to start a new life?" he asked. His eyes twinkled like he wanted to hear some form of hope to keep him going.

"Yes," she replied. "Ozark is a lovely small town. I myself moved here from the commercial Mish."
Marilyn smiled at him. She wondered why she added that extra information about herself.

He stared into space for a while then spoke,"Life is tough but the tough still have to get tougher right?" he asked, laughing spitefully. This man must have gone through many hardships.

"I'm Adamark by the way," he extended his wiry hand.

Marilyn shook it, "Marilyn."

After some minutes of calm silence, Adamark paid his bill and told Marilyn he hoped to see her the next day.

Marilyn got her stuff from her locker and closed the little bar house. It was homely in a funny way. She started her walk home. Her house was about 7km from her workplace but she enjoyed the exercise. It reminded her of the things she missed. She hummed a little song to fasten her journey home. Along the way, she saw a helpless beggar on the road. Helpless people made her antsy. She gave him a cidar. Finally, she got home. She had a much too hot shower and said a short prayer. Thinking about her sister, she fell asleep.

I hope it isn't too short. I'm sorry. Also hope I didn't bore you too much.. We've only just begun. Don't quit on me yet.
You're very free to make suggestions or criticisms. I take either of them very seriously ;-)

Yours truly, Iris.