Goldmine

This story is also from FlashNano – November 2020…

 

She was simple, beautiful, elegant, talented and the only child of a wealthy jeweller.  When others saw Jessie, they spoke of her beauty and talent.  But when Arush set his eyes on her, he saw a pot of gold.

 

He befriended her.  He courted her.  He proposed to her.  And he married her.

 

He waited till she lost her terminally ill father.  That left her with no one else in the family.

 

Then he waited till late September.  For the thunderstorms of the departing monsoon.

 

Finally it arrived.  Every day, as dusk fell, the celestial show began.  Lightning as bright as daylight, deafening thunderclaps and sheets of rain made people shut their doors and windows tight, draw the curtains and curl up in bed for an early night, even as the rains flooded the streets.

 

He chose the new moon night.  As the rain poured down mercilessly and the wind rattled the bedroom windows, he lay down in his bed and waited until the clock struck twelve.  He turned in his bed and took in her sleeping form one last time, before he pressed his pillow to her face.

 

The noise of the rain ensured that no one could hear him digging his backyard.  The deed done, he started his car.  Driving through a storm was something he’d done often and was not much trouble for him.

 

He reached the steep edge of the highway at a point where it overlooked a river and the barricades were missing.  He looked around.  No one.  He pushed the car into the water and jumped in after it.

 

His high school championship days were put to use once again as he battled the fierce current and reached the shore, sufficiently dishevelled, but alive and well.  Worth the trouble, he thought.

 

The next day, the headlines blared out:  Car Falls In River;  Man Survives, Wife Missing

 

The police ultimately closed the file, declaring that Jessie had drowned.

 

But greed has no limits.  After lying low for a while, he met Nikki.  To the world, she was a high flying socialite.  To his eyes, she was a trophy wife and heiress.  Six months later, they were married.

 

This time, he had to wait till October.  Finally, the stormy new moon night arrived.

 

The rain poured in sheets, making a noise almost as big as the thunderclaps, as the huge drops landed on the aluminium sheets above the bedroom windows.  He drew the curtains to keep out the brightness of the lightning.

 

The clock struck twelve.  He turned in his bed and gave the sleeping Nikki one last look.  She was huddled in her blanket, with only her face exposed.  Sufficient for him.

 

He picked up his pillow and brought it closer to her face.

 

She opened her eyes.

 

He was startled, but recovered quickly and pretended he was propping up her head with an additional pillow.  She smiled – a cute, innocent smile.

 

The wind howled and made eerie noises as it entered through the gaps in the windowpanes.

 

He felt a prick on his arm.  He knew there were no mosquitoes around.

 

Her smile suddenly seemed sinister.

 

“Cyanide,” she explained, sweetly.

 

Her hand emerged from the sheets.  She was holding something that looked like a needle.  Even as he opened his mouth to ask what it was, he slumped on the bed, never to rise again.

 

She was his trophy wife.  He was her gold mine.

 

Photo courtesy:  Secrets Of A Gold Digger Killer – Movie Poster