Halloween

1934

She knew he was there, the room had grown colder. A shiver ran down her back as she turned to face him.
“I hope you’re happy,” she said to him.
“Marie-”
“We broke up,” she interrupted. “It wasn’t going to work out. You were right, couldn’t deal with it again.”

“I am sorry to hear of it, my dear,” he said quietly as he stepped towards her. “I simply wanted to warn you of what could happen.”
“Warn me?” she repeated, furrowing her brow. “I knew that might happen, I just…” As Marie started crying, Edward took another step towards her.
“There’s something else, the separation is not what makes you so upset.”
“No…”

“My dear, it wants to hear you say it.” Marie looked down and took a deep breath. She could understand his pain of the devil face, it was a cruel thing. She was sure she would have gone mad too if she had a second face whispering evil things to her.

“I’m pregnant,” she said. She tried to hold back from crying but it wasn’t working too well. “I don’t know how, I didn’t think I could get pregnant but the doctor says that’s what’s happened. I’m not married, Edward. I’m not really Christian any more but it makes a difference and I cannot afford to have a child. I’m already a freak as it is, can you imagine how the child would suffer?”

Edward held her hands in his own and she looked up at him.
“You would be a great mother,” he said. Marie was confused at his wording but he was a strange man and people didn’t talk like they used to.
“I don’t want to be a mother,” she said. “I can’t be. Alfred won’t marry me, he refuses to even consider it and I can’t afford this. I’d have to give them up if I carried through with it.”

Marie managed to calm slightly, taking deep breaths to keep herself steady. Edward gently squeezed her hands and she smiled a little.
“You cannot come with me tonight, I can only take two, not one.”
“What do you mean?” she asked quietly. “Edward, you mean the child would be born a freak, don’t you?”
“I only take one poor soul,” he said, seemingly trying to remain as vague as possible.

“Of course the child would be a freak, it’s probably passed down,” sighed Marie. Tears welled in her eyes again. She didn’t know if she could willingly do that to her child but abortions were risky. Some women had died, not that she could, but that fact meant it almost certainly wouldn’t be pleasant.
“Marie…”
“Edward, I think I need more time to myself. I don’t know how to deal with this, I can’t go through with it, I can’t,” Marie said, starting to ramble to herself.
“You will deal with it as well as you can. I shall do as you wish and leave you to be alone. Goodnight, Marie.”

He didn’t get a reply from the crying woman.