The Painter’s Imagination – #WRITEPHOTO

The Painter’s Imagination – #WRITEPHOTO

I looked at the small pool of water surrounded by the tall trees all around. I marvelled at this beautiful piece of natural lake formation situated on the outskirts of the sprawling estate. I loved this place. I focussed my gaze on the Sun reflected from the placid surface of the water. Slowly the Sun transformed itself into Rita’s beautiful face. The face which I had loved with all my heart.

Suddenly a pair of hands seemed to be reaching out from the depths of the water. The hands stretched out eagerly, reaching out for my face. Were they Rita’s hands? Yes, they must be! I waited for the hands to touch my face and caress my cheeks. Finally, the hands came right out of the water, but they did not caress my cheeks.

Instead, they tightened around my neck and squeezed hard. Slowly I began to choke. Soon I was struggling for breath. I felt as if I was blundering into a pitch black endless cave. I struggled to get Rita’s hands to release me, but to no avail. The hands seemed to be determined to choke me to death. 

Suddenly I awoke from my deep slumber with a scream on my lips. I was sweating profusely.

Oh God, what a dream that had been! The same dream that had awakened me for the past ten days. I woke up and like a zombie I slowly made my way through the estate to the place where this spot existed. Rita used to sit here and paint. And this was also the place where I had killed and buried her.

Why, oh why did she have to cheat on me? We had been so happy together. We had lived a life full of bliss for years. We were a made for each other couple. I had discovered Rita’s affair with Sam by pure accident. She had left her phone unlocked by mistake and I had ended up reading all her passionate messages to Sam.

I had been furious. Rita belonged to me and no one else. I would rather kill her than let her go away with another man. I owned her. Couldn’t she understand that? That was final. And I had planned and plotted and finally choked her to death and buried her body at this spot. Serves her right, I had thought to myself at that time.

I continued walking like a zombie and finally neared the spot where the small pool of water was situated. To my utter horror, just as I was nearing the small circle of water, Rita stepped out from behind the trees and said with a lovely smile ‘Come to me, my darling! Let us be united. Let our souls become one forever.’ Her voice sounded so full of love. I moved forward and reached her. Rita opened her arms wide. I rushed into her arms and she clasped me in a warm embrace. I blacked out completely. 

The Next Day the Headlines in The Newspapers Screamed

The famous painter Ricardo Carrington was found hanging from a tree on the outskirts of his estate. The painter had become a recluse ever since the disappearance of his wife Rita Carrington six months back. Rita Carrington had also been a painter. The two of them tied the knot six years back. The police are still investigating the matter and chief inspector Jenkins reported that prima facie it appears to be a case of suicide.

Author’s Note: This story has been written in response to Sue Vincent’s Thursday Photo Prompt – #WRITEPHOTO