DO NOT OPEN
© Brian Ngoma
Devil In Red
Prologue
An envelope lays on a busy highway with words imprinted on it in caps lock which re-ads ‘DO NOT OPEN’. The breeze b!ows it up and directly gets stuck between a 2019 White Range Rover Evoque’s windshield and wipers.
“What’s that Dave?” A woman in the pas-s£ngers seat asks the man driving.
“How would i know Kara?” Dave sulkily responds as he tries to wipe the envelope off the windshield.
Kara gets curious as she re-ads the imprints. “Have you seen what’s written there?” She stares briefly but evasively.
Dave doesn’t respond.
“What’s wrong with you?” She bulges her eyes and raises her arms. “You’ve been acting weird all day. Is this about your gun license?”
“Have renewed it,” he shakes his head and presses hisl-ips firmly together. “Let’s just get home. Tanashe is alone. The house help has probably left.”
They reach their home in the suburbs around 8pm. With Dave out of the car, Kara remains to lock it down. As she walks round the car, she notices the envelope still stuck on the windshield. She gr-abs it.
DO NOT OPEN
“Is this a joke?” She puffs.
With ease, she opens it, finds a letter and starts re-ading it. Abruptly, her b©dy becomes still. Her mouth slightly opens and her eyes wi-dens. Everything in her hands drops except the letter and envelope. Voices start echoing from above.
DO IT! DO IT!
She walks to the trunk, opens it and sees Dave’s gun. She gr-abs it and walks to the door. She enters and closes it.
From a distance, gunsh0ts are heard across the neighborhood.
“Mommy no!” A little girls voice fades with the gunsh0ts.
Dire silence returns. The door fraily opens on it’s own. A well closed envelope fly’s out of the house and disappears into the darkness.
The story begins…