Sophia really needs to kill her husband. She’s been back and forth, contemplated killing herself, but has decided, no – her husband must die. There is no other way. No one would let her leave him – after all, Chris didn’t hit her. It was the small things – how he’d get up in the early morning and remind her she hadn’t emptied the bin. How he always expected her to clean the sheets. He seemed to think of their marriage as transactional, her as a fit-for-spec wife he was trying to keep in check for him and their daughter, Isla. She fantasised about murdering him, keeping her notes tidily put away underneath her bed. It’s only coincidence, that upon meeting up with her friends, Safa, Caoimhe, Ajola and Ella one evening, that they return to her home and find Chris lying there, dead.
Ajola knew she was destined for more – more than her meagre life as a primary schoolteacher. She had always been a bright girl, gifted in mathematics. But she’d made a few bad decisions in her youth, and without the right person to steer her through – Ajola was living with her regret every day. So, when she had turned up to meet her friends that evening, when they had discovered the dead body and realised they needed to dispose of it – Ajola was keen to help. To do something to change her, and all of their fortunes. Disgruntled by the events facing her life, Ajola’s grandmother had taught her the importance of spells to ward away the troubles in life – chiefly brought about by men. Ajola suggests the five of them perform a sort of séance to ensure Chris’ body is never found. Something in Ajola’s nature, which had always been different from the other girls, meant they took her seriously. And really, what other option did they have.
Caoimhe had only really ever cared about running. She had never been the daughter her mother yearned for – she hadn’t worn bows; she hadn’t ever taken any interest in “doing herself up nicely”. She didn’t really have any time for women, if that’s what it meant to be one and apart from her close friends, she kept herself at a distance from them. She got on much better with men, she thought, as she postured and posed politely for the ones at her running club, taking time to carve out a spot where she might finally be seen. Then Evie, a new woman comes along, with running times Caoimhe can only dream of. And when Sophia rings Caoimhe up to tell her that someone knows about what happened seven years ago, Caoimhe hardly cares except for the fact even more control is being wrestled out of her life.
Continue Reading for Free
Register with your email address. We will send you a verification code before unlocking the article.
