October of Urban Legends

by Luke Christodoulou

  ‘Hello to you, too, Doubting Thomas,’ he replied and placed his tie and jacket on the armchair in the corner. ‘What’s cooking?’

  Iris walked up to him. ‘Don’t change the subject. Kiss me, prove me wrong.’

  Ariadne rolled her eyes and, with her back towards them, continued stirring the spaghetti.

  Their lips parted with a sound. ‘Peppermint! Chewing gum, have we?’

  ‘Jesus, I’m married to a hound dog! Yes, I had one cigarette. It was a stressful day at the office and...’

  ‘Save it. I care less about you smoking than the ease you lie to me. Go play with your son a bit. Lunch will be served in ten minutes.’

  Jacob picked up his son as the two women set the table. Ariadne placed the last plate and walked up to Jacob. ‘Your son, please?’ she said jokingly and laughed as Maximo jumped into her hands. She sat him down and fed him while she ate her small share of spaghetti Bolognese. A spoon full for Maximo and a fork full for her while her eyes’ pupils snuck into their corners and observed the couple eating in silence.

  Soon after, she took Maximo to bed and said her goodbyes. Outside, Ariadne took a deep breath of fresh autumn air and walked to her car. A note lay on her windscreen.

  ‘See you soon, my love. I’ll do my best to be there by six,’ she read the note. ‘Kisses, Jacob.’ Ariadne glanced back at the house and exhaled deeply.

  Inside, Iris rubbed her forehead and pinched the top of her nose.

  ‘What’s up, dear?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she replied. ‘Just my damn migraines. They are getting worse. This house is too loud sometimes.’

  ‘Why don’t you get some sleep then? Now that our little monkey is out. I’ve got to get back to the office anyways. I should be back by eight,’ he said, kissed her on her cheek and left. He wanted to get as much work done as to be out of that dull building by half past five; his mind on his nanny’s hot body than trading stock and checking exchange rates.

  Hours later, Jacob parked at the end of Ariadne’s street. With his hoodie over his shirt and over his head, he stayed in the shadows as he made his way to her apartment block. He avoided the elevator, opting for the less used stairs. Soon, he was outside apartment 112. He knocked quietly. Ariadne screeched in delight as she opened the door and kissed him with force on his cold lips.

  ‘Oh, baby, let me warm you,’ she said and took him by his hand. Clothes dropped to the floor as they made their way over to her single bed. Ariadne fell back naked and welcomed her experienced lover. Twenty minutes later, both were enjoying a smoke on her two-square meter balcony.

  ‘I wish you didn’t have to go,’ Ariadne said. Jacob did not reply. ‘And it’s Friday. I won’t see you until Monday. I hate that she has you all weekend,’ she continued complaining.

  Jacob stroke her black hair. ‘It is how it is,’ he said. ‘If it’s any comfort to you, I have plans with my brother tomorrow and Sunday lunch with potential clients, so she won’t have me all weekend,’ he continued, mimicking her high-pitched voice.

  The following day

  With Jacob out of the house and with Maximo asleep, Iris decided to clean out the garage. They had began building by its side. A new guestroom with its own bathroom. She filled up the kettle and dropped a tea bag in her favorite mug, the one with Ibiza’s beaches on the side. A rattling noise came from the floor above. Iris looked up and stood still. Another noise followed. Iris could feel the blood running faster through her veins. She took off her shoes and tiptoed upstairs. She peeped into Maximo’s room. Her son was fast asleep. She waited in silence, yet no noise came again, besides that of the screaming kettle’s.

  ‘A hot tea should do you some good,’ she whispered and made her way back downstairs. With her apple and cinnamon flavored tea in her hands, she opened the kitchen door that led into their messy garage. ‘Oh, Lord, where the hell do I start from?’ she said as she looked at all the boxes and tools spread out in the spacious room. Iris sat down by the cardboard boxes in the corner and opened the first one; her steaming tea and baby monitor by her side.

  Iris began separating items into three piles. To keep, to sale, to throw. As she enjoyed the last drop from her hot beverage, the window flew open and a gust of wind invaded the garage. Iris dropped her mug to the ground and watched it shatter before her tired eyes. ‘Fuck,’ she said as the images of sandy beaches vanished and gave way to colorful pieces of porcelain.

  Just then, as she stood in despair, she heard heavy breathing. She looked around. She was alone.

  ‘Iris!’

  She clearly heard her name. Her eyes turned to the baby monitor and with shock she saw its bright green lights moving. She ran upstairs to Maximo’s room. He slept peacefully in his bed, his body hidden below his Winnie-the-pooh blanket. He was alone. Iris slid down the wall in the hallway and placed her head in her hands. Tears ran freely as she felt another migraine coming.

  Sunday

  ‘I can’t believe you are going for lunch and leaving me alone in here!’

  Jacob straightened his purple tie as he stood in the doorway. ‘You have Maximo.’

  ‘Please, don’t joke,’ she said, lowering her voice. ‘I’m scared...’

  Jacob sighed. ‘Of?’

  Iris shrugged her shoulders. ‘The house...’

  ‘Baby, it was just wind. You’re just overworked and need a break. I’ll be home as soon as possible. I’m late,’ he said, kissed her on her forehead and rushed out the door.

  Iris screamed silently, cursed Jacob inside her head and slammed the door. She turned around and smiled at her son playing with his toy trains. ‘I wish my only worries were if Thomas the Engine will fit through the tunnel,’ she said as she sat down with her son, who was trying to push his toy train through his Lego bricks.

  ‘Water,’ she said to her boy and passed him his Transformers bottle. She looked over to the kitchen counter. ‘Where’s my bottle of water?’ she asked in her baby voice. ‘Don’t know,’ Maximo replied.

  Iris stood up and looked around. ‘I swear it was just here.’ Iris walked around her kitchen, the smell from her cooking pie filling the air. She continued into her living room and squinted her eyes at the sight of her water bottle sitting on the fireplace mantle shelf.

  ‘Jesus, I’m going mad!’

  Iris walked over to the fireplace, picked up her Evian bottle and brought it to her lips. A strange taste was left on her tongue. A smell of gasoline come to her nostrils. Iris bent down and smelled the fireplace. They had not used it yet this year. That is when Iris noticed the awful quiet.

  ‘Maximo?’ she called out.

  Silence.

  ‘Baby?’ she yelled, rushing back to the kitchen. Iris shrieked at the sight of the empty kitchen.

  ‘Maximo?’ she yelled as she frantically searched around the room. Iris felt pain behind her eyes, like too much blood had gathered there. She paused and tried to catch her breath. That is when she heard, loud and clear, footsteps from the room above. She picked up a kitchen knife and ran up the stairs. Her eyelids kept on dropping, making it hard for her to proceed. The sound of Maximo’s laughter gave her strength.

  She wobbled across the hallway and stood outside the closed door. Iris took a deep breath and opened the blue wooden door.

  Iris had never screamed so loud in her life. Her cries escaped her trembling mouth as loud ringing vibrated inside her head. The room went dark and Iris fell to the floor.

  Miles away, Jacob was shaking hands and smiling wide, thinking about the great deal he had just closed. Soon, he paid the bill and whistling, he headed back to his vehicle.

  He lit a cigarette and turned on the radio. ‘Wicked! Red hot chilly peppers! Damn, what an amazing group.’ Jacob blew out a large, grey cloud of smoke and switched on the engine. ‘Money, baby!’ he said and laughed. ‘What a deal, you lucky bastard. Golden deals, a son, a house, a wife and a girlfriend!’

  Jacob placed two chewing gums in his mouth as he drove down his street. He sprayed some AXE
deodorant on his clothes and parked outside his house.

  ‘Hello?’ he called out as he opened the front door and no one came to welcome him. ‘Maximo? Daddy’s home!’

  Jacob sniffed the air and walked into his living room. The fire burned low in the fireplace, yet no one was there to enjoy its luring warmth.

  ‘Iris?’ Jacob yelled while he scratched the back of his head. He wandered into the kitchen. Smoke escaped the oven. Jacob rushed over and switched it off. Coughing loudly, he opened the oven’s door. A black cloud of smoke and a scent of burnt pie conquered the kitchen. ‘What the...?’

  That is when he heard Maximo’s cries. ‘Daddy? Daddy?’

  Jacob ran up the stairs and opened his son’s bedroom. The door hit against something and did not open. Jacob pushed harder and walked into the room.

  ‘Jesus Christ!’ he yelled as he saw his wife lying unconscious on the floor. He knelt by her side as Maximo ran up to him with his arms reached out. ‘Mama, sleep all day. Mama sleeps. Maximo alone. Cry. Cry. Daddy no come!’

  Dry blood formed rivulets from Iris’ nostrils and her body was twisted in an unnatural way. Jacob shook her and called her name, while Maximo hugged him from behind. He desperately searched for a pulse. He took his phone out of his pocket and called for an ambulance.

  The paramedics arrived ten minutes and later and announced her death.

  Wednesday

  The sky dressed for Iris’s funeral. The news of her stroke spread quickly in their small community. Everyone gathered, dressed in black, for the hard-working young mother.

  ‘So young.’

  ‘A stroke at her age!’

  ‘In front of that poor child’s innocent eyes.’

  ‘Thank God, he won’t remember it.’

  ‘Yeah, but he won’t remember her either.’

  Greeks cannot be quiet. Not even at church. Not even at a funeral.

  The tragic figure of Jacob stood out. First row, a broken man. He took one look at the coffin and then another at his son, through the open arched door, playing outside with Ariadne. Tears ran freely. The only time a man could cry in Crete without ridicule from his peers.

  The autumn sky even shed a few drops for Iris as she was carried out of the majestic church with the golden chandeliers. Black umbrellas opened and the crowd followed her to her final resting place. Jacob walked in the rain. Ariadne took Maximo home and prepared coffee and snacks for the family, for after the funeral.

  Back at the house, one by one, relatives and friends passed in front of Jacob.

  ‘My sincere condolences.’

  ‘If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to call.’

  ‘Stay strong for your boy.’

  Soon, the living room stood empty. Jacob sighed, took another shot of whiskey and went up to his bedroom. First, he took a peek into sleeping Maximo. ‘So peaceful. If you only knew...’

  As he closed the wooden door behind him, he heard the floorboards creak from inside his room. He swallowed his saliva and took cautious steps up to his door. A shadow moved inside. He pushed the door open.

  ‘Ariadne! For fuck’s sake, you scared the shit out of me. What the hell are you doing up here?’

  Ariadne sat on the king sized bed. ‘Scared? Who else could it be? Don’t tell me you believe in ghosts, too?’

  Jacob shook his head. ‘Poor Iris. She really did believe this place was haunted.’

  Ariadne sat further back and patted the bed. ‘Come, lay down. You’ve had a long day.’

  Jacob remained motionless. ‘Ariadne, please. I just buried my wife. My motherless child is asleep just behind that wall. Please, go.’

  Ariadne looked puzzled. She slid to the side of the bed and stood up.

  ‘I gave you three days to mourn. Now, with Iris out of the way, we can finally be together.’

  Jacob’s eyes opened wide. ‘Be together? Ariadne...’

  ‘Ariadne, what? Don’t you love me?’

  ‘I just lost my wife...’

  Ariadne rolled her eyes. ‘Yes, we’ve heard. But, Iris is gone and I am here. We can finally be a family.’

  ‘A family? Ariadne, you were an affair. An answer to my need to feel like a man again... It was a mistake that I should have ended sooner. I wanted to, but the months just went by and...’

  ‘You liar!’ Ariadne screamed. ‘You lying bastard. All that sweet talk? All lies? Don’t act all innocent to be. You hated your wife. You were bored of her. You said, if she wasn’t in the way, we could go on a cruise, be together every night...’

  ‘As lovers. Not to replace her!’

  ‘I can’t believe I got rid of her for you,’ Ariadne whispered through her teeth as she stormed out of the room. Jacob’s jaw dropped. He ran after her, reaching out, pulling her by her right wrist. ‘What did you say? Ariadne, what did you do?’

  ‘Nothing! Your wife was too damn sensitive.’

  ‘What did you do?’ Jacob yelled. Maximo’s cries came from down the hallway.

  ‘I used a liquid that they sell illegally on campus. It is said to be stronger than magic mushrooms. I used to pour it in her drinks and then make her believe in ghosts by making noises and moving things around Well, I took it one step too far and I dressed up with my Halloween costume and took Maximo to scare her. She saw me and had a stroke. I didn’t mean to kill her. It’s this house. It made me do it,’ Ariande pleaded as she tried to escape Jacob’s strong hold.

  ‘You bitch!’ he said and let her go, causing her to stumble back. He remained expressionless as Ariadne fell back and tumbled down the stairs.

  Ariadne lost her consciousness as her head banged against the wall. Her eyes reopened twenty minutes later. She lay tied up inside the newly installed bathtub. Jacob had rolled the cement mixer to the tub’s side.

  ‘You always talked about lame urban legends involving people being cemented inside this place. Get ready to join them!’

  ‘Are you insane? You are going to kill me?’

  ‘It’s the house telling me to do it!’ he laughed and began to pour cement all over her body. Ariadne shrieked as the thick grey cement covered her body. Soon, she would drown in it. Jacob lit a cigarette and waited for her to stop moving. Sure that she was dead, he went upstairs, picked up his crying son and headed for his car.

  His foot landed on the gas and leaving skid marks behind, he sped off into the sunset.

  ‘Don’t worry, son. They will never get us. I revenged your mummy. Everything will be alright. I swear. We just have to make it to the airport before the police come looking for Ariadne. We have relatives in Argentina. They will never find us there. A new life for us, buddy. A new life,’ Jacob promised as he kept going faster and faster. As he exited the country road and headed for the old airport road, through the mountainous area of Chania, his vision became blurry. His eyelids felt heavy. He rubbed his eyes as he drove. He yelled as the strong sunrays from the setting sun invaded his car. Two figures stood in the middle of the road. Two women.

  ‘Iris?’

  That was Jacob’s last word.

  He lost control of the vehicle and hit the stop sign. A truck struck his car on the side, causing it to spin out of control. In a matter of seconds, the car fell off the one-hundred meter cliff. Neither survived.

  The house was never sold.

  Urban legends and true stories kept buyers away.

  It burned down in the great fire of Chania two years later.

  THE END

  About the author:

  Luke Christodoulou is an author, a poet and an English teacher (MA Applied Linguistics - University of Birmingham). He is, also, a coffee-movie-book-Nutella lover. His books have been widely translated and are available in five languages (with more on the way).

  His first book, THE OLYMPUS KILLER (#1 Bestseller - Thrillers), was released in April, 2014. The book was voted Book Of The Month for May on Goodreads (Psychological Thrillers). The book continued to be a fan favorite on Goodreads and was voted BOTM for June in the group Nothi
ng Better Than Reading. In October, it was BOTM in the group Ebook Miner, proving it was one of the most talked-about thrillers of 2014.

  The second stand-alone thriller from the series, THE CHURCH MURDERS, was released April, 2015 to widespread critical and fan acclaim. The Church Murders became a bestseller in its categories throughout the summer and was nominated as Book Of The Month in three different Goodreads groups.

  DEATH OF A BRIDE was the third Greek Island Mystery to be released. Released in April, 2016 it followed in the footsteps of its successful predecessors. From its first week in release it hit the number one spot for books set in Greece.

  MURDER ON DISPLAY came out in 2017 and enriched the series.

  HOTEL MURDER, the fifth and ‘final’ book in the series, followed in early 2018.

  Luke Christodoulou has also ventured into ‘children's book land’ and released 24 MODERNIZED AESOP FABLES, retelling old stories with new elements and settings. The book, also, features sections for parents, which include discussions, questions, games and activities.

  He is currently working on his next project, a collection of short stories, each set in a different month of the year.

  He resides in Limassol, Cyprus with his loving wife, his chatty daughter and his energetic son.

  Hobbies include travelling the Greek Islands discovering new food and possible murder sites for his stories. He, also, enjoys telling people that he ‘kills people for a living’.

  Find out more and keep in touch:

  https://twitter.com/ @OlympusKiller

  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Greek-Island-Mysteries/712190782134816

  http://greekislandmysteries.webs.com/

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  Feel free to add me: https://www.facebook.com/luke.christodoulouauthor

  Note to readers:

  First of all, thank you for choosing my book for your leisure.

  If you have enjoyed the book (and I hope you have), please help spread the word. You know the way! A review and a five star rating goes a long way (hint hint).