There is no such thing as perfect. Nothing in this world comes close enough. Your life is not perfect. Our planet is not perfect…
My wife is not perfect.
Colleen is a beautiful person. That’s the first thing I’ll say and the only thing I say to my friends and family.
She’s always optimistic and has a great sense of humor.
We met 15 years ago in a motel thanks to a funny incident. I locked myself out of my room while wearing nothing but underwear.
I knocked on her door because I didn’t know what to do.
Colleen was so kind and she wanted to help. She managed to get me a spare key.
The rest is history. We’ve always been there for each other. She helped me get through tough times and what’s most important is, she knew how to listen.
If I ever had a bad day, I could tell her everything and she would always care.
And if we ever had an argument, it would be sorted out in three minutes.
Colleen was also the sane part of our life. Seeing her drunk and out of her mind was very rare.
But, as I said at the beginning: no such thing as perfect.
Colleen has this… Habit.
She would wake up around 4 AM and start scratching her back, her arms, and even her face. As if she wasn’t comfortable inside her gorgeous body.
Sometimes it would leave scars.
I vividly remember our first night. We were so in love. When it came to sleeping though, it wasn’t so pleasant as the rest of the night.
Around 3 AM, I woke up to strange sounds coming from the other side of the bed… Scratching sounds.
I didn’t pay attention, at first.
I got worried when the scratching didn’t stop after a few seconds.
“You alright?” I asked.
“Yeah. My skin just itches.”
“Okay, then.” I said after turning over and fell asleep shortly after.
In the morning, while I was preparing breakfast for my then-girlfriend, I froze when I saw her face.
“Oh my god! Colleen, what’s wrong with your face and arms?” I squeaked.
Colleen was covered in red scars and scabs. Her fingernails were covered in dried blood. She was unrecognizable.
“John, we need to talk.”
She explained her habit to me and I had a tough time trying to get along with it.
Doctors couldn’t help, shrinks couldn’t help. That’s what she told me, at least.
“I’m sorry John, that’s just who I am. I can’t change it.”
She was too good to leave. I had to ignore her only flaw.
I also never got to meet her family. She would regularly talk to her mother over the phone but her parents have never seen their daughter’s husband.
She never even let me speak with them. To me, they were ghosts.
Over the past few years, the habit has fluctuated quite a bit. Sometimes the wounds are nasty and she has to treat them in the morning.
Though, sometimes they’re minor. It depends on the weather, apparently. The worst is always in the winter.
Today, the ringing phone woke us both up.
“H-hello?” I said while still sleepy.
“Hi, John, it’s Angela. Did I wake you up?”
“No, not at all. What do you need?” I replied.
“My TV is not working, can you please come over and try to fix it?”
“Have you tried turning it on again?” I asked.
“I haven’t. It just cut to black while I was in the kitchen. I’ll try that now.”
I lay on my bed with the phone to my ear.
“Who is it?” My wife asked who had just woken up.
“It’s Angela. Her TV is not working.”
I could hear the TV button clicking on the other side of the line.
“Yes, it works now. Thank you for your help sweetheart.” She said and hung up.
“Bacon and eggs?” I asked Colleen.
She smiled and nodded.
While we were having breakfast, I was looking at her the way I was on our first date.
She didn’t have a single scar in that motel. Did it all start when she met me? Am I, somehow, the problem?
Ding Dong
The sound of the doorbell intercepted the flow of my dark thoughts.
“I’ll get it.” Colleen said and placed her knife and fork on the plate.
My wife opened the door to see our only neighbor carrying a crocheted basket with a paper bag. I couldn’t tell what was in it.
Yeah, Luis and Angela are our only neighbors. Due to my wife’s habit, we felt the need to isolate ourselves in a forgotten forest.
The elderly couple moved in two weeks ago. It’s okay because their house is not really next to ours.
They’ve never really bothered us in any way. Luis and Angela were just an elderly couple minding their own business.
This morning, they needed something.
“Hi, Luis! How can I help you?” My wife asked.
“Hey, Colleen, I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but can I please borrow an egg?”
We were a little confused.
“Yeah, sure.” She said after thinking for a bit and told him to come in.
He kind of froze when he saw me. As if he wasn’t expecting me to be there.
“Hello, John.” He said.
“Hi, Luis.”
I watched him as he was wandering around our dining room while my wife was looking for eggs in the fridge.
“It’s a nice day for a walk.” He said while I was finishing my meal.
Luis was wearing a wool jumper and simple jeans. He had a beard and glasses.
“Yeah, the lake’s probably not frozen anymore.” I said and got up.
“How many eggs again?” My wife asked.
“Actually, only one.” He replied while looking at me.
It didn’t seem like anything was wrong with Luis. He was just an ordinary-looking countryside wrinkly.
“There you go, Luis.” My wife said and gave him an egg.
“Thank you. What happened to your face, if you don’t mind me asking?
“Oh, you know cats.” She laughed but I knew she was uncomfortable.
“Okay then. See you.”
“Bye Luis.” My wife said and closed the door after he left.
While we were cleaning up after breakfast, I was thinking about Luis. I hadn’t talked to him since he moved in. I didn’t even know his last name.
“Have you ever… Talked to them?” I asked my wife.
“I did say “welcome” 14 days ago.” She laughed.
I laughed too. I always loved Colleen’s jokes. Today, she was also prettier than ever. Behind those scars, I could see a lovely, delightful face.
That’s who my wife really is. I was thinking.
After cleaning up, we both lay on the couch and I turned on the TV.
We were 10 minutes into a movie when the phone rang.
“Hello?” I picked up.
“Hello sweetheart, my TV’s not working again.”
“Is it Angela?” My wife asked as I rolled my eyes.
“I turned it on again as you told me, it worked for a bit but now it’s black again.” Angela continued.
I let out a sigh.
“Okay then, I’ll be there in 3 minutes. Don’t touch it, something’s probably wrong with the cables.”
I hung up. After putting on my jacket, I kissed my wife.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”
She nodded and I left the house.
On my way to Luis and Angela’s home, I was charmed by the beautiful surroundings. Our forest is a special place.
Also, there’s a lake nearby. The winter’s over and it’s alive again. The dew on the grass carried a nostalgic scent and the trees looked peaceful. Everything looked surreal.
After a little more than 3 minutes, I approached their front door and knocked.
Angela opened the door, smiling.
“Oh, sweetheart! You didn’t have to come.”
“No, it’s fine. Can I see the TV?” I asked.
“Of course.” Angela replied and showed me a small TV.
“I tried turning it on but it didn’t work. And sorry for calling about this twice today.”
“It’s okay, let’s see what’s wrong.” I said.
I crouched to see the cables better. That’s when I noticed something strange.
“Hey Ma’am?”
“Yes, sweetheart?” She answered.
“Are you aware that the cables are cut?”
She was confused and so was I.
“What do you mean sweetheart?”
“The cables. They’re cut. Like, with a knife or something.”
“Oh… I didn’t know that.” Angela replied.
“Did you… Did you do it?” I asked.
She sighed and sat down. I sat next to her.
“It’s Luis… He’s been acting strange lately. Ever since we moved in.”
“I can’t even recognize my husband anymore.” She said in a trembling voice.
“Hey, it’s okay.” I tried to make her feel better.
“He seemed fine when I saw him today… Can I talk to him?”
“Oh… He’s not home. I think he left to return the egg he had borrowed from you.”
I let out a sigh too.
“I’m sorry Angela. I will go talk to him now, and about the TV, there’s nothing we can do…”
“Okay then, bye sweetheart…” Angela said sadly.
I left their house and started walking towards mine.
How could someone do such a thing?
I was fully prepared to confront the old man about it.
When I got to our house, the door was partly open. Strange. Something felt off.
I walked into the house and saw my petrified wife and Luis holding a knife.
He was about to stab her so I rushed to prevent it. I had to prevent it…
But, I failed. I was too late.
He stabbed my wife in the neck.
I punched him hard enough to knock him out.
“No, no, no, no. Baby stay with me!” I looked at my wife as the knife was sticking out of her throat.
…Then I looked at Luis.
“WHAT DID YOU DO YOU FUCKING STUPID BASTARD!”
I took the shotgun from the shelf, loaded it, and aimed at his head…
BAM
I wanted to wake up from that nightmare. I even considered rotating the shotgun 180°.
I ended up just turning around. I expected to see my lovely wife lying on the floor… Dead.
Except she wasn’t. She was still standing there with the knife in her neck.
“Baby..?”
When I approached her, I could see something moving beneath her forehead.
I screamed when I saw two horns growing on her face.
Shortly after, the skin on her back ripped open to reveal a set of wings.
I was screaming my lungs out.
The creature smiled, revealing the sharp black teeth.
Instinctually, I aimed at it and pulled the trigger. No success.
Bullets don’t work.
It flew out of my house within seconds. With my heart racing, I left to see where it headed.
I could see it enter Angela’s house. That’s when I realized, it was all my fault. I was the problem.
I brought a demon with me that destroyed lives.
Not just Luis’s and Angela’s, it also destroyed mine. I’ve been living with it for 15 years and now, when I rewind every delightful moment we’ve had, it fills my heart with fear instead of love. Not to mention the fact that I had just killed a person trying to save me.
Even though I could always feel she was too good to be true, too good for me, I tended to ignore it all.
The itchy skin? That’s a devil not comfortable inside a human body. The strange parents? They’re dead. Or just don’t exist. That’s why I never got to see them.
My wife’s body probably did belong to someone. If the devil hadn’t taken over, the real Colleen and I could have met on a beach somewhere and experienced it all for real.
Luis, on the other hand, knew something was wrong from the very beginning.
After finding out that turning off the TV wasn’t enough to make me come, he cut the cables to lure me into leaving the creature alone.
He tried to save me… And I killed him in return.
I directly killed a brave man and indirectly killed an innocent woman.
I’m writing this in the bathroom and I can hear the devil scratching on the door. I guess it’s done with pretending to be the person I loved the most.
Ironically, a lock brought us together and it’s currently the only thing keeping us apart.