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She was beautiful.
Truly something to behold.
Something to be loved.
At least, that is what he thought.
Richard is a decent man and a decent looking man. Richard stands six feet two inches tall and is on the skinnier side. He has green eyes and a profound chin. He has a degree from Virginia Tech, had a job and a home. Richard has worked hard to get to where he is now. The only thing that Richard does not have is a girlfriend or a wife. He is thirty-six years old and, to his parent's dismay, does not have a wife that can provide him children.
One day, Richard was out for a walk along his favorite path, which lined a river. The water was crystal clear and one could see a multitude of fish swimming around each other while being pushed down the river. He gave a small smile due to the antics of the fish, but that smile faded when he saw the woman up ahead leaning over the railing feeding the ducks. She was beautiful. This girl, no woman was tall and an absolute picture standing next to the water. Her long hair rippled down her back in beautiful honey waves and the smile that graced her face was soft and sweet. Richard proceeded to get closer and as he did she noticed him. He wasn't staring at her, but he certainly wasn't looking away and neither was she. Ducks forgotten, she walked up to him. From there they introduced themselves. Her name was Juliet.
After one year of dating, Richard and Juliet get married. Soon she finds out that she is expecting his children. Juliet doesn't say anything for a while. She wasn't scared of him or anything, but she wanted it just to herself for awhile. This fantasy of hers ended when she started experiencing morning sickness. Juliet is sick ALL the time. Richard has been asking, but she always diverts from the question. Finally, she tells him. However, that is only after she finds out that she is expecting twins. Richard is so happy about the fact that Juliet is pregnant.
About eight months later, Juliet and Richard are holding two beautiful baby boys. One is Jeremiah and the other is Harry. Both boys have Juliet's honey-colored hair and Richard's green eyes. Within a week, Juliet and the boys are home. Everything seems pretty normal, except that Juliet has started to pray before bed and when she gets up in the morning. This wouldn't normally be odd, but Juliet did not do that before the boys arrived. She didn't even do this when she was pregnant with them.
Stealth Music - Deception
A week later, Richard comes home to hear loud music. He could hear it even before he walked in the door. He had a very bad feeling. When Richard opened the door, Juliet was sitting with her back against the back of the couch and a cigarette in her mouth. Last time he remembered, Juliet didn't smoke. Richard looked around and didn't see the boys anywhere.
"Where are Jeremiah and Harry?"
"They are getting a bit cleaned up before dinner," Juliet said with indifference.
Richard doesn't follow at first, but then realizes that the boys are indeed not okay. He begins looking around for them and remembers what Juliet had said. Richard runs to the bathroom and finds the boys. Both of them had been drowned by Juliet. Richard sees red. He wants to kill her. He wants nothing more than to put her in the water next to the boys. Instead, he pulls out his phone and calls the police. After talking to them, Richard goes into the living room where Juliet is sitting.
Richard: "Why did you do that?"
"They said they could handle it," Juliet comments back.
Richard begins to cry. He sits next to Juliet and pulls her to him. He makes sure that she cannot get away. Juliet begins to struggle against him when she hears the sirens, but he doesn't let go. If anything, Richard's grip gets stronger. The police come in with guns drawl and expect Juliet to run, but to their surprise, Richard has her in his grasp. They take her into custody and discover that she is actually wanted. Juliet's name was not really Juliet, but Emily. She had killed other children that she had given birth to and then she had killed the man. After this day, Richard swore that he would never date or marry another woman again. If his parents wanted grandchildren so bad, then they would just have to be happy with whichever he adopts, child or animal.
Author's Note: I based my story off of King Shantanu and Ganga by Donald A Mackenzie. I wanted to set the story in modern day and see what would have happened. In this case, some sort of authority would have been called on Juliet/Ganga if she really did drowned Richard's/Shantanu's children. I added the aspect of praying because it would show a connection between Juliet and the Gods. Overall, this story is about deception and how Juliet/Emily made herself look like a dream in order to lure in anyone who would dare come near her. The result is the eventual drowning of her children and of the husband. She relishes more in the kill and doesn't worry about time.
She was beautiful.
Truly something to behold.
Something to be loved.
At least, that is what he thought.
Richard is a decent man and a decent looking man. Richard stands six feet two inches tall and is on the skinnier side. He has green eyes and a profound chin. He has a degree from Virginia Tech, had a job and a home. Richard has worked hard to get to where he is now. The only thing that Richard does not have is a girlfriend or a wife. He is thirty-six years old and, to his parent's dismay, does not have a wife that can provide him children.
One day, Richard was out for a walk along his favorite path, which lined a river. The water was crystal clear and one could see a multitude of fish swimming around each other while being pushed down the river. He gave a small smile due to the antics of the fish, but that smile faded when he saw the woman up ahead leaning over the railing feeding the ducks. She was beautiful. This girl, no woman was tall and an absolute picture standing next to the water. Her long hair rippled down her back in beautiful honey waves and the smile that graced her face was soft and sweet. Richard proceeded to get closer and as he did she noticed him. He wasn't staring at her, but he certainly wasn't looking away and neither was she. Ducks forgotten, she walked up to him. From there they introduced themselves. Her name was Juliet.
After one year of dating, Richard and Juliet get married. Soon she finds out that she is expecting his children. Juliet doesn't say anything for a while. She wasn't scared of him or anything, but she wanted it just to herself for awhile. This fantasy of hers ended when she started experiencing morning sickness. Juliet is sick ALL the time. Richard has been asking, but she always diverts from the question. Finally, she tells him. However, that is only after she finds out that she is expecting twins. Richard is so happy about the fact that Juliet is pregnant.
About eight months later, Juliet and Richard are holding two beautiful baby boys. One is Jeremiah and the other is Harry. Both boys have Juliet's honey-colored hair and Richard's green eyes. Within a week, Juliet and the boys are home. Everything seems pretty normal, except that Juliet has started to pray before bed and when she gets up in the morning. This wouldn't normally be odd, but Juliet did not do that before the boys arrived. She didn't even do this when she was pregnant with them.
Stealth Music - Deception
A week later, Richard comes home to hear loud music. He could hear it even before he walked in the door. He had a very bad feeling. When Richard opened the door, Juliet was sitting with her back against the back of the couch and a cigarette in her mouth. Last time he remembered, Juliet didn't smoke. Richard looked around and didn't see the boys anywhere.
"Where are Jeremiah and Harry?"
"They are getting a bit cleaned up before dinner," Juliet said with indifference.
Richard doesn't follow at first, but then realizes that the boys are indeed not okay. He begins looking around for them and remembers what Juliet had said. Richard runs to the bathroom and finds the boys. Both of them had been drowned by Juliet. Richard sees red. He wants to kill her. He wants nothing more than to put her in the water next to the boys. Instead, he pulls out his phone and calls the police. After talking to them, Richard goes into the living room where Juliet is sitting.
Richard: "Why did you do that?"
"They said they could handle it," Juliet comments back.
Richard begins to cry. He sits next to Juliet and pulls her to him. He makes sure that she cannot get away. Juliet begins to struggle against him when she hears the sirens, but he doesn't let go. If anything, Richard's grip gets stronger. The police come in with guns drawl and expect Juliet to run, but to their surprise, Richard has her in his grasp. They take her into custody and discover that she is actually wanted. Juliet's name was not really Juliet, but Emily. She had killed other children that she had given birth to and then she had killed the man. After this day, Richard swore that he would never date or marry another woman again. If his parents wanted grandchildren so bad, then they would just have to be happy with whichever he adopts, child or animal.
(Image Information: Truth made up of lies; Source: Pixabay)
Author's Note: I based my story off of King Shantanu and Ganga by Donald A Mackenzie. I wanted to set the story in modern day and see what would have happened. In this case, some sort of authority would have been called on Juliet/Ganga if she really did drowned Richard's/Shantanu's children. I added the aspect of praying because it would show a connection between Juliet and the Gods. Overall, this story is about deception and how Juliet/Emily made herself look like a dream in order to lure in anyone who would dare come near her. The result is the eventual drowning of her children and of the husband. She relishes more in the kill and doesn't worry about time.
Hi Corona!
ReplyDeleteThis story is very well done, and you did an excellent job of referencing the story of King Shantanu without being too obvious. The main comment I have is that this is a LOT darker than the original version, so maybe you could make it so that Juliet truly believes (as Ganga does) that her children are being sent back to heaven.
Hi again, Corona! I just want to start by saying that I really enjoyed reading your story. I liked how you chose to write the story in modern day. I thought that you did a good job in portraying the story in the present-day voice. With that being said, I remember in the original story king Shatanu still had a single child that his wife did not kill. Why did you choose to have his wife kill both his kids?
ReplyDeleteCorona, your story was super cool and I enjoyed it a lot. I thought it was super interesting and the flow of it was very good. I like how you incorporated the original story, but made it more of your own. I thought that it was very dark, but I liked that and again, I think it attributes to making the story your own! Thanks for the story and I can't wait to read your other stories.
ReplyDelete