Murder of the Swan
By
Billy Khydd
The very world seemed to be on fire as the sun set low in the sky over the lagoon. “Isn’t she beautiful,” I exclaimed watching the lone white bird glide softly over the water. I felt my boyfriend take my hand, “You come here all the time and talk about the damn swan”. I turned to him his football face looked angry, “You don’t think she is beautiful”? He shrugged sending his wavy brown hair to fall onto his face “I don’t know it’s just a stupid swan”. I turned from him, “You can’t see the beauty in her, the simplicity . . . how could something so beautiful start off as something so ugly”. “Who cares let’s go back to your place and make out,” I gagged slightly “such a sweet talker you are”. He grabbed me around my waist, “come on that skinny waist and china doll like face always gets to me”. He leaned in and began to kiss my neck. I pushed him away “no Ricki I am not in the mood”! He sounded shocked, “not in the mood so we have to sit here and look at this stupid swan . . .” I turned to him “she’s not stupid . . .” he shrugged “so what is it”? I shrugged, “I don’t know I just feel connected to her I have seen her every year of my life, she is a part of me”. “She’s a stupid bird,” “Forget you Ricki! You know you don’t need to criticize everything”! “Well, why don’t you do anything normal like instead of sitting by a lagoon watching a stupid swan you could be making out with the most popular guy at school”? I scoffed as I turned back to the swan swimming gracefully in the sunset.
“Julie if you don’t stop staring at that stupid swan I am going to leave,” “well go then”. I wanted to laugh watching his bewildered face contort in a rage “but I am Ricki Thorton the most popular guy at school”. I waved my hand, “yeah, yeah well why don’t you find another girl! I’m not that easy”. He laughed as he growled “have fun staying a virgin . . . maybe your swan can help you out with that”. He turned and started laughing as he walked away with a backwards glance, “good riddance”. I sat down on a park bench staring at the swan, which would always glide around making sure to always stay in my line of sight. Finally when the sun hid behind the horizon I decided to head back home.
If I thought Ricki could have been angry it was nothing compared to what I experienced when I arrived at school. My dismissal of his advances had reached around the school, however Ricki was telling a different story. I heard him in the hallway, “yeah she spreads like peanut butter. I can hook you up”. I felt anger burn inside of me and clenched my books tightly as I walked right up to him. I pushed him, “I am sick of telling people that nothing happened yesterday”. Ricki gave an arrogant “baby, baby how can you deny me? Girls always get sticky with Ricki”. “Yuck,” I yelled, “nothing happened between us”. All his friends laughed as Ricki said, “oh Julie how are you going to deny me”? “Deny you,” I said knowing that anything I where to say would just be immediately be dismissed. I decided to sink to his level. “Oh Ricki you know that nothing happened. You were too small to get it in remember”? All his friends laughed as I continued, “you don’t need to be upset because u were unable to perform”. Ricki began to yell at his friends as I left him. Ricki was the laughing stock of the entire school and by the end of the day, Ricki didn’t mention anything about me again.
The moment I finished my homework I took my usual walk to the lagoon to spend some time watching my swan. I stopped halfway when I noticed the absence of the swan huffing slightly I decided to head back home. As I approached my driveway, I watched my parents enter their car, “hey where are you guys going”? My mother dressed in a long black dress a spitting image of me. “Your father and I are going out for a romantic dinner,” I smiled “oh good for you guys”. My mother kissed me on the forehead as my father gave a wave, “see you later pumpkin”. I smiled “later dad,” they pulled out the driveway and pulled around the corner. I entered my house and prepared my own dinner. The sun had already set by the time I had finished. My parents were surely not going to come home anytime soon.
The phone rang as I withdrew from the couch, “probably mom checking in”. I grabbed the phone and without a greeting I gave an exasperated “Yes mom everything is fine you and dad just have . . .” “It’s not your mother”. My heart sank a little, “oh it’s just you Ricki”. “Yeah it’s Ricki,” “what the hell do you want”? Ricki sat in silence, “come on Ricki I don’t have all day”. “You ruined my reputation,” I scoffed “you ruined it yourself . . . I’m hanging up”. “You have taken what matters to me,” I gave a frustrated, “good bye Ricki”. Before I hung up the phone I heard a whisper, “look out your back door”. And before I hung up the phone Ricki was gone replaced with a dial tone.
I hung up the phone and curiously make my way to the back door. I move the curtain to the side and stare out the back yard. There stood Ricki, his monkey like face and shaggy hair hung like a sheet. A large colored Tupperware container sat next to him, he clenched a large kitchen knife in his left hand. “Ricki,” I said watching his anger seem to swell in him. He reached down and opened the top to the container he grabbed a large white bird flapping its white wings frantically. He pointed the knife at me, “You have taken what is precious to me so I am going to take what is precious to you”. I watched as he took my swan by the neck as its wings flapped even more wildly, “oh my god . . . what the hell are you doing”? He smiled with a look of pure evil and raised the knife towards the swan.
I watched in horror, “don’t Ricki”! My hand gripped the handle and I flung the door open. I had to save my swan which cried out in terror. I took my first step outside but froze when I saw the knife slide across the neck of the swan. “NO,” I screamed as I felt a sharp pain in my own neck. I began to gasp as I felt increasing amounts of pain in it. I watched in horror as Ricki’s blade slide across the swan. I took a step back as I gripped my neck. I felt my neck swelling cutting off my airway. I couldn’t speak as I fell to my knees choking in pain. The swan’s head fell to the ground as Ricki threw the swan’s lifeless body at me. “Now you can keep your swan forever,” he didn’t even look concerned as I knew my skin was growing purple. “I know the shock of it is too much maybe next time you will think before you open you stupid mouth”. Ricki turned and walked away without paying a second glance at me. I fell to the ground and reached for the swan. My fingers inched towards the door as I felt my body slowly dying. So this is what it’s like to murder a swan.
The End