Post by franklinmarsh on Jul 3, 2009 12:18:52 GMT
When I raise the blind covering my cheap hotel window, I see a brick wall. This seems metaphorical, but isn’t. I’m at an impasse.
It’s killing someone that’s the problem. I know the taking of life is about as big a wrong as you can get, but….
Your chosen victim is a Bad Guy. He’s been terrorising local people for ages. He’s a pimp and a drug dealer and brings misery to a whole community. To the outside world he’s a philanthropist and a…well..a saint, almost. He does nothing but good.
I look at the marks on my arms and torso. I can still feel the beatings. The rapes. The hate. I got away. But I’ve come back. It’s only a matter of time before he finds out.
Another question. Do I wait here for him – or go for him on his ground? I’m almost certain I’m going to die, whether I’m successful or not. I consider it a small price to pay for ridding the community of someone like him. I’ll wait. I have a small,cheap firearm. It’ll do the trick. He frightens the elderly and the traditionally minded. They think of him as Lakhe, King Of The Demons. I can see past the mask, and I know he is only Eddie Gurung, Gangster.
They come at night. I knew they would. They like the darkness. It hides their evil. The door to my little room opens as it were unlocked. The yeti enters first. My hand shakes as I point the pistol at his head. The discharge is preceded by a small ‘pop’, but the bullet penetrates the yeti’s head via his right eye.
I cringe on the bed as he roars, and careers around the tiny space, smashing anything he can reach. I roll away as he collapses on the bed, which also collapses. Gunsmoke eddies around the room. He is behind it. He is wearing the Lakhe mask. I know it is artifice but I am very, very frightened. Horrible images flash through my head, and my left hand tries to steady my right arm as I aim. I wonder what the mask is made of, and whether it will stop or deflect a bullet.
“Komal Rana.”
I sob as he says my name. My whole body is twitching with terror as he glides implacably toward me. I can see the fangs and tongue protruding from the mouth.
It’s not real I tell myself, but I’m partly mesmerised by Lakhe. His hand reaches toward me and I pull the trigger.
‘***************************************************
“Komal Rana,” says the cop.
I glance at the photo.
“Mmmmmm. Doesn’t ring a bell, but then we all look alike, don’t we?”
I cackle. Couldn’t resist it. The cops are covering up their racism, but it’s there. They’re tight-lipped. I toss the picture back onto my desk.
“You’d better ask the girls,” I smile.
“We will,” says the cop, reining in his anger. He walks to the door with his partner, and turns just before he exits.
“We’re watching you, Eddie,” he says. “You might have been a big noise in Nepal, but you’re shit here.”
I grin, hiding the hurt at his mention of the old country, coupled with the insult. I make more money in a week than he earns in a year so can afford to be magnanimous.
“Let me know if I can help in any other way,” I smirk. Always look happy. It needles them.
The cop looks at the mask on the wall, then back at me. He leaves without another word. I lean back in my chair and the smile disappears.
I let little Komal go, thinking she would either die quickly or be too frightened to talk. I didn’t foresee her return, or her desire to end my life. I must be getting soft. It won’t happen again.
When Sami, who the people think of as the yeti, recovers, I think the yeti and Lakhe will have to let the people know the price for disobedience.
The smile returns to my lips.
It’s killing someone that’s the problem. I know the taking of life is about as big a wrong as you can get, but….
Your chosen victim is a Bad Guy. He’s been terrorising local people for ages. He’s a pimp and a drug dealer and brings misery to a whole community. To the outside world he’s a philanthropist and a…well..a saint, almost. He does nothing but good.
I look at the marks on my arms and torso. I can still feel the beatings. The rapes. The hate. I got away. But I’ve come back. It’s only a matter of time before he finds out.
Another question. Do I wait here for him – or go for him on his ground? I’m almost certain I’m going to die, whether I’m successful or not. I consider it a small price to pay for ridding the community of someone like him. I’ll wait. I have a small,cheap firearm. It’ll do the trick. He frightens the elderly and the traditionally minded. They think of him as Lakhe, King Of The Demons. I can see past the mask, and I know he is only Eddie Gurung, Gangster.
They come at night. I knew they would. They like the darkness. It hides their evil. The door to my little room opens as it were unlocked. The yeti enters first. My hand shakes as I point the pistol at his head. The discharge is preceded by a small ‘pop’, but the bullet penetrates the yeti’s head via his right eye.
I cringe on the bed as he roars, and careers around the tiny space, smashing anything he can reach. I roll away as he collapses on the bed, which also collapses. Gunsmoke eddies around the room. He is behind it. He is wearing the Lakhe mask. I know it is artifice but I am very, very frightened. Horrible images flash through my head, and my left hand tries to steady my right arm as I aim. I wonder what the mask is made of, and whether it will stop or deflect a bullet.
“Komal Rana.”
I sob as he says my name. My whole body is twitching with terror as he glides implacably toward me. I can see the fangs and tongue protruding from the mouth.
It’s not real I tell myself, but I’m partly mesmerised by Lakhe. His hand reaches toward me and I pull the trigger.
‘***************************************************
“Komal Rana,” says the cop.
I glance at the photo.
“Mmmmmm. Doesn’t ring a bell, but then we all look alike, don’t we?”
I cackle. Couldn’t resist it. The cops are covering up their racism, but it’s there. They’re tight-lipped. I toss the picture back onto my desk.
“You’d better ask the girls,” I smile.
“We will,” says the cop, reining in his anger. He walks to the door with his partner, and turns just before he exits.
“We’re watching you, Eddie,” he says. “You might have been a big noise in Nepal, but you’re shit here.”
I grin, hiding the hurt at his mention of the old country, coupled with the insult. I make more money in a week than he earns in a year so can afford to be magnanimous.
“Let me know if I can help in any other way,” I smirk. Always look happy. It needles them.
The cop looks at the mask on the wall, then back at me. He leaves without another word. I lean back in my chair and the smile disappears.
I let little Komal go, thinking she would either die quickly or be too frightened to talk. I didn’t foresee her return, or her desire to end my life. I must be getting soft. It won’t happen again.
When Sami, who the people think of as the yeti, recovers, I think the yeti and Lakhe will have to let the people know the price for disobedience.
The smile returns to my lips.
