The Merderer

VII.

Wednesday.
September 23, 2038.

"Hi," said Marilyn.

Adamark sat on a bar stool. "Do you have any water?"

Marilyn nodded and went to her locker to get a bottle of water. It wasn't everyday someone requested water in a liquor store. She gave it to him and he drank heartily.

"So, how do you find Ozark?" Marilyn asked.

Adamark wiped his mouth with a stained handkerchief. Marilyn watched him closely. This man hadn't always been poor. The way he carried himself, the gentle way he spoke. Everything said that he was once rich. Wealthy even.

"I find Ozark mysterious, captivating.. also strange. The people here do not care about new folks. I noticed that they're friendly to each other. But never to me," he said and quickly added "Except you that is. You've been very kind and I thank you for that."

Marilyn held back a smile. "They just haven't accepted you yet. Trust me when I say the people here are the nicest ones you can ever meet."

Silence. Except for the sound of Adamark tapping the bar table. Maril used the time to clean the glass cups. She frowned when she saw an ugly blotch on a glass cup.

"Are you married?" he asked.

Marilyn paused what she was doing and scoffed. "I work in a bar," she said while nodding her head. "I go home at midnight everyday. Am I married? You tell me."

"I guess that was a pretty stupid question," Adamark remarked. "Still I had to ask."

Marilyn pushed back her motion to ask him why he had to inquire about her marriage status. Instead she asked, "Where did you come from?"

He humped his back. "Does that really matter? I think what matters most is where we're all going."

Marilyn shrugged. "I also came here for a better life. I ran away from my past. I'm a coward and I don't regret it. Did you run away from your past Mark?"

"And if I say yes?"

"Then I'll tell you to go back to it. Running away solves nothing. The past is part of you." She laughed at her own advice. "Don't be like me Mark."

"It's Adamark," he corrected. Marilyn wondered if she brought back a memory.

Midnight.

"Well, Adamark. It's time for me to close up." She took the empty bottle of water and threw it into the bin. "You should get going."

He stood and offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. It's just that the name takes me way back. Know that I'm a man from very far away and I've done a lot of bad things."

Marilyn listened.

"I'm not a good person Marilyn. I was once a very rich man. But I didn't get rich in the right way. That's probably the reason for my suffering."

She winced, surprised at his bluntness. He was pitiful.

"Don't feel sorry for me. I deserve all of it. I'm gonna go now. Thank you Marilyn." He turned to leave.

Marilyn intercepted him and gave him a hug. She didn't say anything. She just wanted him to know that everything would be alright. The man was going through a very painful guilt. She might never know the full story but, she didn't need to. Wounds were not meant to be reopened. She let him go and gave him a sweet smile. Adamark smiled back and left the bar.

Marilyn switched off all the lights and locked the bar house. She started her usual trip back home. Soon enough, she got to her front door. She searched her purse for her house keys. Nothing. She poured all its contents and checked every single thing. It wasn't here. Shit. It must be in her locker. The night felt strange today. No, she thought. She mustn't get scared. She left her bag on her porch and left for the bar-house.