The house was peaceful and quiet; everything was lying still. Dust had accumulated on the shelves and furniture. The wallpaper was crippling and the floorboards creaked. It had been a long time since I had come here. The house used to be bustling with life, but as I made my way down the hallway from the entrance, it seemed to have remained untouched for years. My hands fumbled with the bouquet of flowers I was holding while I walked past the parlour, the kitchen, and the dining room. Beth was nowhere to be seen.
I climbed up the stairs two-by-two and continued my search on the second floor of the mansion. I remembered exactly the location of her bedroom in the midst of all the closed doors in the hallway. I opened the door without a sound and there she lay, undisturbed in her peaceful sleep. I stared at her beauty in awe, my jaw agape. My heart swelled with emotion from seeing my love, Elizabeth Todd, once more. Amongst these strong feelings, pity came to mind; Beth had recently fallen ill rendering her paralysed and voiceless.
I placed the bouquet of colourful flowers that contrasted with the dark ebony wood of the room in the empty vase on her nightstand. I then set about to help Beth live despite her present condition. I looked down at her innocent face and kissed her forehead before whispering, "Darling, it's me, Johnny. Please wake up."
I picked her up from her bed with ease; she was as light as a feather. I carried her down the stairs and sat her in her wheelchair. I thought she must be hungry so I fed her a piece of bread which she barely choked down with my help. I stroked her pale cheek with the back of my hand and realised she must be freezing cold. I brought the wheelchair beside the brazing fireplace and read her a story to keep her entertained. When I finished, it occured to me that I did not know exactly how long she had stayed cooped up in her house. So I decided it was best to take her out on a walk in the fresh air.
After managing to dress her up for the cold autumn season and bringing her and her wheelchair outside, I was exhausted. Before going any further down the road, I took a break to catch my breath. As I straightened up, I locked eyes with a terrified neighbour looking down from his window. I greeted him and he waved back with an uneasy smile. I asked myself, "has he not heard she is sick?", but shrugged it off and continued my walk with Beth. We looped around the block and came back no more that half an hour later.
I carried her back inside and it was then that I noticed a putrid stench. Where could it be coming from? I checked behind couches, hutches and almost every other piece of furniture to see if there was a dead mouse behind. I finally realised that the atrocious smell came from my darling Beth. How embarrassing! It was true that she could not bathe herself, but she would have rather stayed dirty than lose her purity. However, I could not bear the smell any longer and decided I must wash her. Strange as the scent was, I was not worried; it was another aftereffect of her illness.
I filled the washbasin with tepid water and proceeded to undress Beth. Just as I was about to peel off her undergarments, a knock startled me. I slowly made my way down the stairs, leaving the visitor waiting. I opened the door to two policemen, the neighbour not far behind. I plastered a smile on my face and greeted them in a welcoming way, "Good day, gentlemen. It is quite windy outside, isn't it?"
- Mr. Duncan?" asked the pleasantly plump policeman. "We were alerted by a neighbour that there is something wrong with a certain Elizabeth Todd. Can we see her?"
- She is upstairs waiting for me to help her take a bath. She has recently fallen ill and become paralysed and mute."
We climbed up the stairs and reached the washroom. When we arrived, the two policemen looked at each other and then at Beth. They picked her up to take her away, but I tried to stop them by pulling her hand as I said, "I was just protecting her, don't you see? This way, she could never leave me. Without me, she would die; I saved her!"
At that moment, I looked down and realised her hand was no longer attached to her body.
