2001 School Magazine

original works : 5^

So that's what she did. She washed away the stains of time. Wood that had never shone before now glistened in the early dawn's light. She scrubbed and she soaked and when it was all done, she headed downstairs, back towards the kitchen. Now Mary-Kathleen had a problem. in her cleaning torrent, she had made the bathroom spotless and even her own bedroom, but she had purposely avoided the kitchen and as she stood in the doorway. she was scared She took a deep breath, which seemed to suck In most of the airin the house, and stepped backinto her old life. her life with him; she stepped. into the kitchen "One, two, three, " she counted to herself She bent down and took hold of her husband's limp, lifeless body and dragged it into the sunny yard On the hour of eleven she telephoned the police station. in her best and most respectable voice, she said, " would like to speak with your highest ranking officer, please. " "My name is Sergeant Mackenzie, in a'am. I'm sure I can help you with any inquiries, "said the voice on the other end of the line "Right, well then, I suppose you'll be wanting to send an Qincer round to charge me I've murdered my husband. "Mary-Kathleen's voice did not waver At the court hearing, her evidence was truthful and completely sincere She cried. she allowed herself to become angry. Mary-Kathleen told the judge of the abuse and of her crime The judge called an adjournment and Mary-Kathleen was told to wait in a small nearby room. As she nursed her two babies rocking them back and forth, it was as if a layer of dust were wiped from her eyes. She realised she could not go to gaol She now understood. She had to escape and take her children to a place where they could be with her In her new house on the citylimits of Tunana, Mexico, she was happy. She had escaped across the Mexican border, withoutincident and she was yet to hear of any attempts to find her. She had not waited for the court's verdict although she was sure she would have been given a substantial prison sentence for murder. One morning, as she was sipping a mug of coffee in her bedroom, she noticed an article in the paper that lay on her lap "Woman confesses to her husband's murder and 15 found, not guilty. " MaryKathleen read further and discovered, yes, indeed. she was this woman The jury had found her innocent because she had acted in self-defence She did not regret murdering A1bert. She had been dying with him. That life had been killing her inside and out. She was so glad hed decided to have that bottle of whiskey, that Sunday afternoon in fall. A bottle of whiskey had saved her life

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EmilyLuxton 10 England