A Mad Man's Clause

11|The Inner Man

Henry

He turned, catching sight of her immediately. Under the sweltering heat, she blazed like feral flames as her whole body shook with mirth. With golden eyes, she beckoned him and like a moth, he yielded to her fire. The group of natives surrounding her were lost on the moment the two lovers shared.

"I love you, Henry."

"And I you, O..."

"Now we both know that's a lie." A sinister voice snarked.

Henry swung sharply. Gone were the open plains where he stood. Now he stood alone in his bathroom partially shrouded in darkness. The low swinging light cast eerie shapes in the small space. He caught his reflection in the mirror and faltered. The man staring back at him had bright green eyes, full of malice and contempt. A sharp contrast to the wry smile tugging his lips.

"Quite the life you're making for yourself there, eh Henry?" He cocked his head and shifted his gaze to the ring on his finger. "A new wife?"

Henry clenched his jaw, "Leave me alone!"

"You forget we're one and the same person. That would make her my wife too, wouldn't it?" The man chuckled, "Oh I can't wait..."

Henry felt rage simmered to the surface, thrumming through his veins. "Shut the hell up!" he gritted through clenched jaws.

"Or what? You're going to kill me?" his reflection jested, "Does she know what you did, our new wife? You know to ..."

"SHUT UP, YOU MONSTER!" The sound of splitting glass filled the air. Blood trickled down cracked lines down to the sink. The man in the mirror, his image now warped through the broken glass, laughed hysterically.

Abruptly he stopped and spoke, his words cold "The clock is ticking, Henry. As you know, all good things come to an end."

Henry's eyes snapped open, every nerve in his body on high alert. He took in the darkness, straining to see what was around him. Feeling too warm, he stumbled out of the bed, stumbling his way to the bathroom. He looked in the mirror slowly, cautiously, uncertain of what he would see. Dull brown eyes watched him back wearily. All that adrenaline rush drowned in sea of relief. He turned on the tap, washing away the vestiges of the nightmare.

Jolts of memories from the night before resurfaced, and slowly he remembered where he was. He moved to the threshold of the door and caught the soft movements of the petite figure tangled in ruffled sheets. He felt enraptured by each rise and fall of her chest.

That would make her my wife too. Those words were banished to the depths of his mind as a strong sense of possessiveness took root. Mai belonged to him alone and it was time she was made aware of that fact. With one last glance, he marched out of her room to put his plans to action.

*****

Henry

He turned, watching with surprise and amusement as she trudged through the mush to get to him. His estate featured a grove a few metres away from the main house. He hid away so often here that it lost its title as a secret hideaway. A worn-out path through the trees led anyone right to the spot. Mai stopped in front of him. She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't because she was distracted. The trees grew thickest here with thick long vines snaking around the trunks and hanging low where there was none. Sunlight flitted in through dozen pockets created through the foliage overhead, creating tiny spotlights everywhere. Mesmerising still was the small creek meandering its path through the thicket. It was clear enough to see schools of fallfish swim.