By Shevlin Sebastian
A woman is walking at a quick pace down a New York street. Because of the clouds, there is a greyish tone to the day. She is a slim woman with close-cropped hair, which reaches the collar. Alice Baker is pale-skinned, but she has put red lipstick on her lips. The colour stands out when you look at her face. She also has striking eyes — a thick grey with a black dot in the middle. Her eyelashes stick out as if she is astonished.
Alice wears flat, black leather sandals. On her left wrist, she wears a thin, gold watch. The dial is made of gold, including the hour and minute hands.
A black man ambles up. He is 6’2” tall. Unlike the woman, he is
heavy-built, with a paunch that falls over his stomach. It rolls about like a
wave. He has grey stubble. Not thick, but hairs sprinkled across the chin.
There is a smell of rye on his breath. He has consumed several glasses of
liquor.
Ben Whitaker is a former Army soldier who had done three stints in Vietnam. He shot dead many Vietnamese. Because he was often near bomb blasts, he has damaged his hearing.
After seeing so much violence, Ben returned to America, a troubled man. His marriage broke up. He fought with friends and relatives. Ben could never hold a proper job. He always ended up fighting with his supervisors. So far, he has avoided run-ins with the police. He survives on his Army pension.
His apartment is ill kept. His shorts, underwear and socks lay strewn about on the floor and the sofa. There are empty beer cans and whisky bottles on the floor, as well as cigarette ash. Half-eaten food packets lay on the dining table. The odour is a mix of perspiration and stale food.
As the black man sees the white woman, Ben thinks of privilege, white wealth and a smooth life. He thinks the world is unfair. Too many black people fought in Vietnam. She is too young to know about the sacrifices of the blacks in Vietnam. She has a happy-go-lucky life.
Alice might not agree. She has broken up with her boyfriend of three years. And she is feeling low. Her parents had divorced when she was a child. She grew up with her mother Deborah. She rarely saw her father, Robert. He was a wealthy architect and had married again. But to his credit, Robert made the alimony payment on time for years together. He married again and had two children.
Deborah never married again because Robert was the love of her life. So, she had a look of permanent sorrow on her face. Down turned lips and downcast eyes. She lost the incentive to look good. Her blond hair no longer has a lustre. Deborah wore loose-fitting shirts and trousers. She sat at home the whole day. Alice was glad when she left home and joined college. That was when some oxygen entered her lungs for the first time.
But Ben did not know this.
As she came abreast, a lot of blood flashed inside his brain, face, and heart. The veins in his forehead pounded a ferocious drumbeat.
Ben took out a gun and knocked Alice’s face out.
Ben carried on walking.
The 24-year-old lay on the ground, still and lifeless.
Onlookers came rushing up.
One called 911.
There were many surveillance cameras on this street. It would be a matter of time before the police arrested Ben.
But he has no plans to escape.
As he continued walking, the 64-year-old pressed the steel barrel to his forehead.
He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.
As he rushed toward death, all he heard were the screams of onlookers....
