“Ezekiel, pass me the green beans, would you?”
“Mom, what would you do without me?” Ezekiel said to his aged mother as they were eating their bi-weekly evening dinner; this dinner was a special one, though.
“Happy birthday, son. It’s been forty years since I brought you into this world under agonizing and bodily pain and damage, but you never fail to impress me with your kind heart and charming smile.
“I see, I see. I’m actually quite surprised at how you haven’t pushed me to pursue a wife.”
“There is no due date on love.”
Light chatter went on through the rest of the evening, when shortly after, Ezekiel said his thank you and good-byes and made his way to his apartment in brightly lit Manhattan. Only a ten minute walk it was from his mother’s house to his, so he walked there in the bitter and chilling evening cold. On his way home, he stumbled along an empty city alley. The silhouette of a young girl penetrated the dark shadows that engulfed the entire alleyway, and caught the eye of Ezekiel. His heart pulsated rapidly at how vulnerable the situation appeared to be.
“Hey there,” exclaimed Ezekiel as he squinted in angst to see this young woman.
“Oh, uh, hello there,” the woman replied to him as she stepped into the miniscule circle of light that shown a filmy yellow color from the grimy alleyway at which they both resided.
“What are you doing here alone in the dark?”
“Oh I was just taking my break from my work which is right over there.” She pointed to the scummy white door which revealed age and had appeared to have gone through much distress. It was a newspaper building for The New York Times.
“Oh, so you’re a writer?” Ezekiel smiled at her in order to show compassion, and a sense of safety and security, as well as trust on her part.
“Oh, no actually. I’m the head photographer and photo editor for the newspaper.” The way she appeared with her short brown hair which was the shade of semi-sweet chocolate, was as if she was an organized person. Every crease in her white blouse was pleated perfectly, almost as if she had a very important event to attend.
“That’s intriguing.” He started to walk towards her, in an innocent way to show that he could be trusted. He sat down on the stack of cinderblocks adjacent to her and prepared himself to ask her a question that required courage. A strong obsession was how he felt when he looked at her, like it was love at first sight, but it was much more than that.
“Would you like to go out for coffee sometime? I know it’s kind of a shot in the dark, literally, but I really find you attractive and would like to get to know you much more.”
“No, sorry. Thank you, though. I just got out of a bad relationship, so I’m just trying to work on myself for now.” The woman said to him in the most polite way possible so she didn’t hurt Ezekiel’s feelings. “Plus, you don’t even know my name,” she continued with a chuckle.
“Oh, Rebecca. Sweet, beautiful Rebecca. You don’t even know the first thing about me.” He stood up slowly and looked at her with a menacing smirk that screamed danger. In his pocket was a small, yet damaging pocket knife, which he used to slice her throat horizontally in a full three-hundred and sixty degree motion. Blood spewed out of her neck and stained his hands. She was clinging to life until he punched her head right off of her body. She lay on the dirty ground, headless, when Ezekiel slid down her pants and under garments and then took advantage of her lifeless body. “Now what would you have done without me?” Ezekiel spoke softly to himself as he fled the scene.
***
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today in the house of the lord. Please, open your bibles to Deuteronomy 22:28-29. Here, it says, ‘If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with he, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.”
He looked up from his bible on the podium and stared at the congregation.
“Amen, pastor.”