It’s almost over just 5… more…seconds… done! Lizzy released her tightened grip on the baby’s throat. Her knuckles were white. Those wide hazel petrified eyes stared back at her right through to her soul. She took her hands out of the water and wiped them on her pants. What am I going to do now? I can’t go to jail! But that woman would have gotten the baby before me, and I couldn’t let her take my child! Lizzy thought. She had made a deal with an old woman that if she kept her husband alive in the war, she would get her child. Of course Lizzy never believed in any of these mythical things so she went with it. But now that the woman had been showing up at her house constantly, and threatening her she knew no other alternative then to kill her own flesh and blood. Of course she didn’t want to kill her, she would have given anything in the world to still have her little baby girl of 2 months with her right now. But, as she decided it was best for the child to die then to witness the horrors the old woman might possibly do to her. Yes, she reasoned, now that Cervil is dead I have done the right thing as a mother and not made her suffer what could have been.

She took one last longing look and closed the shower curtain. Lizzy tried to stay calm and went down stairs to make herself a cup of tea to calm her nerves. Should I flee town? Or will that look to suspicious. Oh what should I do!? I have to do something, I can’t just sit here and wait for that woman to show up, for all I know she could kill my husband for this. Yes, maybe if I warn him he will have enough time to go into shelter or come home to me. My dear Tom.. Lizzy couldn’t imagine what Tom would think when he knew what she had done to their only child. He would think that she was mental and put her into an institution… again. She wouldn’t go back, she had made such good improvement since then and she knew that that woman was real. It just had to be! It couldn’t be her imagination again. If it was then she would have killed her own daughter for no reason, and she would never have done that, never in a thousand years!

Lizzy proceeded to get a pen and paper from her desk and write her husband a letter. My dear Tom, something terrible has happened at home and I need you to come home. I realize that this is quite sudden but I would not ask such a big favor to you if I did not need you this much. I am scared for the consequences this time, and I need you here to help me through this. Please to do not worry too much. I hope all is well.

Love,


Your darling wife Lizzy.

She sealed the envelope with her spit and dabbed it with a little perfume. Perfect. Lizzy glanced out the window and noticed how nice of a day it was turning out to be. It was the complete opposite of her mood and what had happened. She half laughed at the irony. She quickly got dressed and put on a thin layer of makeup to hide her blotchy skin and headed out for the post office. Coming out of her front door she noticed some rose petals with a note attached. You are too late. Her stomach dropped. No, it couldn’t be she promised, and I prom… Lizzy gasped and sped to the post office immediately.

“Is there any new mail for me today?” Lizzy asked the mail man.

“It appears so miss” Lizzy had a chilling feeling. The envelope was sealed by the military. She had heard of these letters before but she never dreamed that it would happen to her. With shaky fingers she broke the seal to find the words: your husband was a brave man, and had a brave soul. He will be dearly missed, we are all very sorry. Lizzy’s world came crumbling down. She let out a shriek of pain. For her husband and for her dead child. That woman was real, it was no joke. Her chest racked with power from crying, she couldn’t stop it. Everyone was staring at her. The mailman came over to her and placed a comforting hand on her back.

“I didn’t think she was real, honest I didn’t please, I gave up my child for this woman and for my husband.” Lizzy managed to ramble through sobs.

“Ok, ok, I know you are upset… wait what about your child miss?”

“SHES DEAD I KILLED HER FOR THAT B**CH AND NOW MY HUSBAND IS DEAD AND I HAVE NOTHING!”

“Where is your child miss? Maybe I can help her or I can help you.”

“It’s no use she’s dead. Gone forever from this world.” The mailman looked at her strangely and had an odd feeling that he should help this woman and call the cops.

“You just stay here and I’m going to make a few calls ok?” the mailman hurried away and called an ambulance. “yes I have a woman here who is in distress, she just got a letter from the war telling her that her husband is dead and I think she might need some help, she’s a mess right now”
Within five minutes the ambulance was there. They asked her all sorts of questions about the strange woman. None of them knew what to say. They thought she was crazy. The whole time she kept screaming about her dead baby. Finally one of the nurses volunteered to check out her home. What they found surprised them all.

They all thought she was just in stress about her husband. Well, they were partially right. In the bathtub on the second floor the nurse found little baby Cervil. The next morning Lizzy was discharged from the hospital and brought to the psych ward where she would be having some medication for a while.

“That woman is real I tell you! She will come for me and all of you if you don’t let me out of here!” Lizzy screamed day after day on end. One evening the alarm sounded in the 400’s wing where Lizzy was kept. The door all the way to the end was open. Lizzy was dead. The doctors say that she was overly stressed and they never said what they actually thought. There were no signs of resistance or that she broke her restraints. She just lay there with her wide eyes staring into the ceiling.

A few hours later a few doors down an elderly woman was brought in. She was found in her home laughing and mumbling to herself. She had skin under her nails, and an unblinking glaze. She was mumbling: lizzy lizzy so young hehe I found you hehe…