Elsa had waited for this moment ever since the brooch had gone missing. Her mother's brooch. The one left to her. The one that had disappeared a week ago.
But it hadn't disappeared. It had been stolen. Elsa was sure of that. And she knew who had stolen it. Nora. Nobody else had motive and opportunity. Elsa liked the sound of that: motive and opportunity. It made her sound like a detective.
Nora loved Elsa's brooch. That was the motive. Every time she visited she picked up the brooch, held it, and admired it. She would place it under the light and smile as the diamonds sparkled like a thousand tiny suns. Then Nora would put the brooch down, gently, almost reluctantly.
After one of these visits, the brooch just disappeared. That was the opportunity. Elsa had seen Nora pick up the brooch. But then Elsa had been distracted by a phone call. A wrong number as it turned out. When she returned, the brooch was not there and Nora was on her way out. "I'm sorry," she said, "I have to leave now. Join me for dinner?" Then she walked out the door. And the brooch walked out with her.
Elsa was not totally surprised. She half expected Nora to try something like this. But she had no intention of letting Nora get away with it.
She had a plan. It was simple, really. Elsa had invited Nora over for dinner. This evening at 5. The day and time were critical. Today was a Thursday. Nora volunteered at the hospital from noon to 4:30 on Thursdays. In order to get to Elsa's by 5, Nora would have to come directly to Elsa's house. She would have no time to go home first. And Elsa would have Nora's house to herself. She had the keys. She would go, search the house, find the brooch, and confront Nora when she arrived.
But after three solid hours of searching, Elsa had given up. The brooch was not there. Which could only mean one thing. Nora had the brooch on her.
Nora arrived soon after Elsa returned. Nora plopped herself into the easy chair, like she always did. Elsa offered to get Nora a glass of wine. But she didn't get wine. She got a large crystal bowl and dropped it on Nora's head. Nora didn't make a sound. She just collapsed.
Elsa didn't mean to kill Nora, but what's done is done. At least now she could get the brooch. Elsa stretched Nora out and started emptying her pockets. There were only two. The first had a wad of bills and some change. The second looked more promising. It had an obvious bulge. But to Elsa's disappointment, the bulge turned out to be a set of keys and a receipt for lunch. Elsa looked at the receipt. Hamburger, french fries and a coke. Elsa was disgusted. Nora always ate crap.
Elsa now had two problems: the missing brooch and the dead body. The brooch could wait. It must be in Nora's house. She would go back and check again. But the body, what could she do with the body?
Elsa looked at her sofa. There was plenty of space under the sofa for a body. She dragged Nora over to the sofa and started stuffing her in. Something blocked her.
Elsa got a flashlight and looked under the sofa. She could see the obstruction. It was a box she had forgotten about. Then she saw something else. It was just a shimmer behind one of the legs of the couch. But in the light of the flashlight, it sparkled brilliantly, like a thousand tiny suns.
Spiritual questions:
- What assumptions have you made about others?
- How have those assumptions controlled how you behave to them?
- What if those assumptions are wrong?
This is one of the Parables for the Spiritual but not Religious Series.
January 2, 2020 - This was written with the Roundhouse Writing Group in Santa Cruz, Guatemala, remotely from Guanajuato, Mexico. The writing prompt for the session was: Write about emptying the pockets of someone you know well, in the voice of a character.
The photograph is by James St. John and made available through Flickr and Creative Commons, some rights may be reserved.
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