Sinbad looked out of the window from the first floor. It was in the middle of July and the sun was shining. He took a deep breath. He could hear the children play in the garden. He buttoned his shirt and went down to the kitchen.
“Mhm, something smells good,” he said as he walked over and kissed the red-headed girl on the cheek.
Ariel turned around with a big kitchen knife in her hand. “I’m making us a picnic basket,” she said and smiled.
“Be careful with that knife,” Sinbad said jokingly. “I wouldn’t want you to hurt anyone.”
Ariel faced the kitchen table again and continued to cut the cucumbers. “Oh don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I know how to handle it,” she laughed.
“I know you do. I’ve seen you cook for the last 6 years.” Sinbad stood by her side and watched her prepare the food. “Can I help with anything?”
Ariel laughed. “That’s so sweet of you, honey. But I think I’ll do just fine without your ‘help’.”
“So my help isn’t good enough,” he joked and pretended to be offended. Sinbad turned his head as he heard a voice coming from the garden. “Daddy, come and see what I’ve found.”
“It seems like I’m needed in the garden. I can’t wait to taste the food,” he said with a smile before he walked out of the kitchen door and into the garden. He saw his son come running with a glass in his hands. Sinbad sat down in the grass as the breathless boy showed him the bug he had caught. “That’s a really fine bug you have there, Matthew,” Sinbad said as he studied it.
Sinbad petted the boy on his dark brown hair. “Why don’t you get the camera so we can take a picture of it?” A big smile appeared on the boy’s face. He gave Sinbad the glass before he rushed into the house.
Sinbad held the glass up in the air.
“What’s that?” Sinbad turned his head to look at the curious girl. “It’s a bug your brother has caught,” he explained and showed her the glass. “Eeew, bugs are gross,” said the blond girl and made a grimace. Sinbad laughed. “Maria, you are just like your mother.”
“I hope you are not insulting anyone, Sinbad.” Sinbad turned his head when he heard the sarcastic tone he knew so well. “I was just telling her how her fear of bugs reminded me of you,” he said before he rose from the ground and kissed the woman. She looked around the garden. “Where’s Matthew?” she asked when she realized she couldn’t see him anywhere.
“He’s getting the camera so we can take a picture of the bug,” Sinbad explained. “What a good ide-…“ Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by a deafening scream. Mother, father and daughter all turned their heads in the direction of the house. Maria clung to her mother in fear. Sinbad rushed to the house. Before he got all the way, someone came out. In her hand she was holding a kitchen knife covered in blood. Sinbad stopped immediately and stared at the knife in shock. Then he looked up at her face. “Ariel,” he exclaimed shocked.
“I thought I heard voices,” she said in a low yet strident voice. “I don’t like unwanted visitors. You know that Sinbad.” Ariel smiled at Sinbad and walked closer to him. Sinbad was paralyzed. Ariel gently placed her hand on his cheek. “But don’t worry. I’ll take care of it for you.” Ariel gently patted his cheek, before she walked towards the little girl who was still clinging to her mother.
“No, Ariel,” Sinbad shouted as he tried to follow her. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t move. It was like there was an invisible wall between them. He hammered on the wall. “Don’t touch them Ariel.” But Ariel didn’t respond. She just continued to slowly walk towards Odette and Maria, still with the kitchen knife in her hand. As Ariel walked closer, her smile turned slightly more twisted.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Odette said as she stepped in front of the child. “She’s just an innocent child.”
Ariel walked closer. She lifted the knife to her mouth and licked some of the blood of. “Are you trying to tell me that this blood also belonged to an innocent child?” she said and giggled.
Odette’s eyes widened. The blood on the knife... The scream from before... Matthew in the house…
“N-no. You couldn’t have… He’s just a child,” she whispered.
“He’s just a chi-…” Odette shouted desperately. Before she could finish her sentence she crouched and moved her hands to her stomach as a reflex. Before she fell all the way to the ground, Ariel pulled the knife out of her stomach.
“You fucking bitch,” she shouted at Odette before she turned her focus to the frightened girl.
Meanwhile Sinbad was hammering desperately on the invisible wall. There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t get through. He screamed as much as he could, but Ariel didn’t even seem to hear it. All he could do was watch. He saw Odette desperately trying to crawl towards Ariel to prevent her from hurting Maria. He saw Ariel move closer to the girl while laughing hysterically. He saw the terrified look on the little girls face. He could hear her scream. He could see the blood color her dress red.
Sinbad continued to hammer on the invisible glass. Suddenly it shattered. He ran towards Ariel and Maria as fast as he could. They seemed to move even further away from him. They started to fade away. Everything became dark.
Sinbad woke up bathed in sweat. It always happened in a different way, but the main story was the same. Odette would have his children and then Ariel would kill them. And then he remembered… most of the story had happened in real life.
