Merciful Shadow

Agathokakological

"It's about time..." I muttered to myself, slowly reaching for the black cloth to envelope my eyes. I shall become shrouded in mystery; nobody could know it was me. I reached for my katana, my grip tight, my hands shaking.
'Is this all-?,' I asked myself, unsure. Although I had done this a few times already, it was still hard to process that I was the one ending the lives of others.
'It will have work either way.'

Stepping outside into the moonlit streets, I took a deep breath. The church bells chimed 10 times, indicating it was 10 pm. I wore my black jacket, rolled up at the sleeves. The cold nipped at my bare arms as I began to walk steadily towards Marie Street, A street a mile from here.

A young girl, around the age of fourteen, had just been diagnosed with lung cancer and didn't want to go through the treatment. She was told she only had two months. Those two months would be filled with nothing but dread until it was over. Physical, physiological and mental pain for both her and her family. None of them deserve that. It was up to me to set her free.

Marie Street looked peaceful. There were small, green trees dotted around outside each house. The houses were neatly lined up and each one had fairy lights, plants or a decoration of some kind, making each and every one unique from the next.

I scanned the ceramic numbers that were fixed to each door, in search of number 28. My eyes only stopped searching once I had found it. There was something about House 28 that made it seem sadder than the others. It was painted pale grey and the door was a familiar shade of red.

I hated the colour red. The colour of blood and suffering. The colour branded as evil by society. An angry, fiery colour. The colour that opposes blue. Blue is calming and stable. It represents fairness, justice and peace. I stand for peace. I am blue. Not red. Anyone that says otherwise is wrong.

I took light footsteps as I walked forwards as not to attract attention to myself from the other houses. When I reached the door, I pulled a paperclip from my pocket and swiftly began picking the lock. It was easier than I thought it would be; I had assumed the houses here would have higher security than they did, as they seemed quite expensive.

Once I had gained entrance, I began to visualise the floor plan for houses on this street. I recalled that the stairs should be to my left, next to the biggest room in the house. Most people on this street convert this room into a living room. I navigated round the stairs and eventually reached the top.

"The girl's room should be straight onwards through this hallway." I thought to myself before taking a few brisk steps. Eventually, I reached a door shrouded with drawings, posters and quotes. It was unfortunate that such a young, innocent person had to be the centre of everyone's stress.

I decided to put my katana away before entering, as not to startle her. I would open the door and cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming and alerting anyone about my presence until I could calm her down enough to talk with her.

I opened the door, cautiously, and was surprised to see her sitting with her back to me; she was looking out the window and, by the sounds of it, crying. I crept up behind her, not caring to shut the door, and covered her mouth. She didn't struggle, nor did she try to scream. I put my finger to lips to indicate that she should be silent and she nodded calmly.

I pointed towards the bed.

"Is it okay if I sit with you? I want to talk to you about some things, if that's ok with you, of course." I tried to speak in a soft and gentle voice so she would feel more relaxed but she didn't seem at all scared anyway. She nodded silently and I sat beside her. She looked at me, her eyes were oceans but not the pretty, calm kind; her eyes were oceans, bright and blue but sad and stressed. They looked almost grey like they'd given up.