Reality Check

It was still raining outside. Her nose was pressed against the window and she watched a droplet slide slowly downward over the glass. She followed it with her finger until she could see it no more. It was not that she was bored or that she didn’t love the rain; she did, she adored rainy days. It was just… she didn’t know really. Days like this made her feel melancholic in a way. It made her miss him more, yes that was it. She sighed and tore herself away from the window to make yet another cup of coffee. Her fourth this morning, she should really tone it done. Maybe she should go outside, walk some in the rain but when she looked outside again she saw it really pouring down hard. She wrapped her cardigan around her and sat down behind her laptop. It was high time she wrote some emails to his friends and family. They were still under the presumption that he was here with her. She had been postponing the inevitable for far too long unable to face reality. They were so far away and she couldn’t stand the thought of their love or blame even. Not now, not ever. She hardly knew them; she didn’t want to know any of them to be completely honest.

She started to think back to the time they met. She was on holiday here in Scotland when she met him whilst hiking one of the many Highland trails. He came from Canada but his ancestors had Scottish roots so he said and he came here to look for it. They spent some time together; both being alone and they clicked. They talked about anything and everything and she even told him about her dream of wanting to live here. He said he could imagine why. That it was such a beautiful country and he had fallen in love with it. He had to go back to Canada but they stayed in touch. One day he just turned up at her front door with loads of bags saying that he was there to stay. Her tiny flat in South-London wasn’t big enough but they managed meanwhile saving up all their money to buy a cottage in Scotland which they did a year later.

She looked around the cottage where she now lived alone. They fell in love with it the moment they walked in. It wasn’t that big, but big enough with a lovely garden close to a loch. ‘This is where we grow old’ he’d said and she’d believed him. That was last year.

She sighed looking at her laptop again. How do you tell a mother that her son has been missing for over a month and they have given up all hope of ever finding him again?

It had really started to pour down now when she walked to the kitchen to make lunch. She couldn’t even see the hills anymore. Thankfully she had an AGA in the kitchen that kept her warm. She remembered that she was the one who really wanted one and she’d never regretted it since. It made the whole kitchen more cosy and warm. She sat down at the kitchen table looking out. She couldn’t just send an email. That was too cold. She had to call her. ‘I really don’t want too’ she mumbled to herself.

Suddenly she was startled by a knock on the door. She sat there frozen. Who could that be, here in the middle of nowhere?
She got up to open and looked out to see a silhouette of a man in a hat standing there.

‘Who is there?’ she asked shaking as a leaf.

The only reply she got was more pounding at her door. Slowly she opened the door slightly to peek through to see a policeman standing there.

‘I’m so sorry to disturb you’ he said ‘can I come in?’

‘Yes, I’m sorry I live alone and I’m being careful’ she explained.

‘As you should’ he nodded. He took of his cap and shook the rain drops off. ‘Fine weather we’re having’ he smiled.

They sat down at the kitchen table where she quickly poured him some coffee which he welcomed.

‘What can I do for you?’ she asked.

‘Well’ he started ‘you have reported a missing person, am I right?’ when she nodded he continued ‘That missing person was your husband?’

‘Yes we were only married for a few months’

‘Ah I see’ he said ‘there has been someone here to talk to you about that?’

‘Yes, he has been missing for over a month now’

‘And he was gone hiking was it?’

‘Yes all by himself’ she flinched thinking about it ‘the weather was similar to this kind of weather so I didn’t like the idea much’

‘But he went on hikes often?’

‘Oh yes that’s how we met’ she smiled thinking about it ‘Funny you should come now, I was just thinking about how to tell his mother. Should I email her, call her? I just don’t know how to tell something like this’

‘No, you never do’ he looked at her ‘it is very difficult to follow the trail he was on, the weather has been like this for weeks now’

‘I know they’ve told me, they also told me not to have hope’

He looked at her how she sat there fiddling ‘Can I use your bathroom?’ he asked.

‘Sure’ she pointed him in the right direction.

She went back to the kitchen he made sure she was sitting down at the kitchen table again before walking up the stairs instead of going to the bathroom. He had always been intrigued with this case and something about it was off he thought. He made a quick look around the rooms. Nothing in the rooms, although one was locked, but the master bedroom was different he thought. The bed wasn’t made and it looked like the bed had been slept upon on both sides. He looked in the ensuite and found all the men’s shaving gear like it’s been used recently. When he heard a thumb he quickly walked back toward the bathroom, flushed the toilet and walked to the kitchen.

‘Would you like another cup of coffee?’ she asked when he walked in.

‘No thank you I really have to go back. I just wanted to see how you were doing. Is it alright if I come back to check up on you every now and again?’ he asked.

‘I would like that’ she smiled.

When she let him out she waved at him before closing the door. Outside he walked around the cottage out of her sight. There… it wasn’t his imagination. One of the rooms upstairs the one that was locked, the curtains, they moved! He looked around and saw a tree where he could hide behind. Then he saw a man’s face and not much later she was there too pulling him away from the window and closing the curtains again. He walked back to his car and called it in.

--- 

‘Why did you lock you husband up into that tiny room?’ he asked.

Her lip was trembling, she was on the verge of crying ‘He was going to leave me’ she said tears welling up in her eyes ‘he said he would never leave me’

‘Husband?’ the man said ‘I’m not her husband. We met during my holiday in Scotland. I’m Canadian and I live in Canada. I wanted to go back after a few weeks and she wanted me to stay. I hardly know the woman! She asked me to meet her for a goodbye diner and god forgive me I said yes to please her and be done with it. How could I know she was nuts enough to put something in my food and lock me up for god knows how long? How long has it been anyway? Months maybe a year even! The woman is mad! All I wanted was to go home to Canada and she wouldn’t let me. That woman needs a serious reality check!’

© KH