Sunday begins like any other. Sam tends her tiny garden in pink gloves while Mitchell barbecues on the balcony. From a distance, their lives appear perfect—normal. But beneath the ritual lies resentment. Sam speaks through her plants. Mitchell speaks through bacon.
Their conversation spirals. A warning about leaning over the rail becomes an argument about Sam’s mother, calendars, cycling, and Mitchell’s long-abandoned hope for intimacy. Breakfast ends with silence—familiar, bitter silence.
Later, they drive through the countryside toward an old railway tunnel. Sam dreams of rural life. Mitchell entertains the fantasy. But when directions go wrong and tempers flare, resentment resurfaces. Words become weapons. Accusations fly.
At the tunnel, a shift occurs. The cool stone walls amplify Sam’s voice as she scolds Mitchell. But he isn’t just angry—he’s detached, internal. He spirals inward as her words echo. Time slows. Reality blurs.
In his mind, something dark unfolds. He imagines hurting her. Silencing her. Reclaiming power. He imagines brutality cloaked as catharsis—then returns to reality, blinking it away.
Sam stands at the tunnel’s entrance, still complaining. Mitchell follows quietly. They exit together, the silence between them louder than before.
To the world, nothing happened. Just a couple on a country walk.
But inside Mitchell, something irreversible stirred—and it’s not going back.
[excerpt from SEETHINGS 2 – available for download now!]
Ch13
Discover more from Michael Forman – Author of Dark Fiction & Drama
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