Saturday, July 11, 2009

Entry #49

Beyond Words
by Rachel Green


Sarah Fielding swirled the glass of wine, hoping for answers in the crimson depths. “It’s not that I don’t love him,” she said, her eyes reflecting the candles, “I do. Passionately. It’s just that I know he loves someone else.”

A tear ran down her cheek, leaving a snail-trail of mascara, and splashed onto her hand. She pun down the glass and wiped it away. “If only he loved me with such passion,” she said. “I could endure anything if he looked at me the way he does her.”

“There will be other men.” Robert’s hand brushed away the trail. “You’ll find the right one for you soon and then this whole business with Peter will be a fond memory. It’ll hold no more power over you than a bad dream.”

“Do you think so?”

“I know so.” Robert smiled and picked up her wine glass. “Here. Drink a glass of sun-ripened berries and think of summer. You’ll have no more worries, I promise.”

Sarah smiled for the first time and took the wine, clinking her glass against Robert’s and noticing for the first time how his eyes sparkled in the light.

“Bottoms up,” he said and she drained the glass.

She coughed, thumping at her chest. “Bitter,” she said. “I’m more of a sweet white kind of girl.” She struggled to breathe, suddenly beyond words.

“Red’s good for the heart,” he said, relieving her of the glass before she dropped it. “And Belladonna is so red it’s black.”

19 comments:

laughingwolf said...

too nasty... but well wrought :)

Laurel said...

Robert needs to find himself one of those hookers from "A Full Bodied Red."

And Sarah clearly makes bad choices in men.

I like the colors in the last line..."so red it's almost black."

Anonymous said...

Lots of deranged lovers in this Clarity of Night round...nice

Chris Eldin said...

Watsit with the wine and murders around here?
;-)

Nicely done! I love the last line in particular---poetic!

Anonymous said...

Ah, now this really appeals. Excellent ending - one I didn't see coming at all. Fantastic build up too.

JR's Thumbprints said...

Aerin's right: Lots of deranged lovers in this Clarity of Night round...nice. Perhaps a little GHB in this one.

Aniket Thakkar said...

Don't we all love to kill our characters. :D

I passed on the chance in this contest. I guess no one would miss it either. :)

I liked the piece a lot. I feel for Sarah...

Catherine Vibert said...

That Robert is just not nice at all. Whatever happened to a nice cry on the shoulder kind of guy? Oh well. Nicely written.

Sarah Laurenson said...

Well, he's not the gay best friend. ;-)

Oh my. Nicely done.

Laurel said...

Oh, Sarah. You stinker. Good point,however.

Kurt Hendricks said...

Agreed...a fantastic closing line.

PJD said...

Echo Aerin. I feel like I should give up wine so I don't meet or become a murderous sociopath.

BernardL said...

Deadly nightshade indeed. Too bad Robert didn't figure out he was only a couple glasses of wine away from catching the rebound. :)

Unknown said...

Wow, didn't see that coming at all - totally wicked! Great story telling!

Krista said...

Nice job. Well written.

JaneyV said...

Doesn't belladonna mean "beautiful woman"? How full of hate was the person who gave such a foul poison that name.

I like your twist but I think that if you had hinted at his motivation for the killing it would have been a far more satisfying ending. Good job though.

Jade L Blackwater said...

Excellent - bittersweet! From the moment I see Sarah gazing into the wine for answers, I feel her teetering in the wind at the edge of a cliff, waiting for the inevitable slip.

Rachel Green said...

Thank you for the kind comments. You can probably guess I was writing a murder novel at the time!

Anonymous said...

Belladonna. Now there's a poison you don't see everyday. I liked that touch.

High marks for pacing.