Short, damp, brown matted hair, clung to Ms. Hart’s head as she nervously trudged down the calm narrow streets of her town. She wore a large trench coat covered in mud and dirt, it covered the majority of her body and veiled her facial features from the detesting society closing down on the small narrow streets that seemed to be becoming smaller each passing day.
She was afraid, but also determined. As she came closer to the open door which could lead her to destruction or victory. The moonlight seemed to be the only source of light, as it followed her every step, with her. The humid air and the sound of the wind was telling her to go faster.
She carefully tip toed over to her destination ready to shield her voice, when she recognized the man standing there. It seemed like he was always there, purposely blocking or watching over her. It was Ms. Hart’s husband’s friend, Alfred. He never failed to show up to his job. She wished at least this once, that he would fail his duty to be there.
As she took a step back from the unbeknownst predator, she accidentally stepped in a puddle of water, earning undesired attention.
“Who’s there?” demanded Alfred with authority in his voice, as he stood up and pointed the brightness of the flashlight toward Ms. Hart’s direction.
Ms. Hart cowered back slightly and lowered her head. She shakily made her legs move forward the slightest bit and revealed herself under the glistening moonlight.
“I am Joel March,” she lied with the most courage she had.
She felt the words barely able to leave her mouth as her throat became dry.
“Well, Mr. March, let me see your face at once. Reveal yourself, now!” Alfred became more intimidating to Ms. Hart by the minute as his voice became laced with power.
One wrong response and she was done for.
Alfred took a step forward towards Ms. Hart and his boot forcefully smashed into the ground creating an unbearable sound. Ms. Hart backed away, fearing the consequences of being found out about impersonating a man.
She could feel his intense glare penetrating into her skull.
She stood frozen as an iceberg, as Alfred forcefully pulled the hood from her trench coat. Alfred’s rough and manly hands ripped it off with ease. With the hood, Alfred took away all the power Ms. Hart could ever have. Now she was just a woman in the eyes of him. All that was protecting her from the world vanished.
Alfred’s eyes widened in surprise as he removed his hand away from her and cried out, “Kathy? Kathy Gwen, David’s wife?”
Kathy Hart hung her head without daring to make eye contact with the man called Alfred. She had lost all courage and determination in just a couple of minutes.
She slowly looked up to see Alfred staring disgustedly at her. Kathy knew that she needed to do something about this mess, something about the society she was currently drowning in. Kathy’s eyes wavered slightly, as she looked up at Alfred’s unflinching stare.
With shaky hands and a trembling voice, she spoke cautiously to Alfred, “no,” she muttered, “no!” she repeated a bit louder.
Alfred stood dumbfounded looking at Kathy as if she’d grown another head. No one had ever had enough courage to speak to him like that, especially a woman.
“I am Kathy Hart now,” she repeated over and over under her breath, “I am Kathy Hart now.”
Alfred’s piercing blue eyes stared uninterested at her, “You sound like you planned your husband’s death, Gwen,” he chuckled.
Kathy’s eyes had opened in fear to the possibility of what he might have found out. The secret information she had buried in her head long ago.
“I didn’t!” she neglected a little too quickly, “I actually came here to ask you for a job. A job as a guard, like you.”
Alfred smirked at her, “Why were you sneaking up so quietly then?” he teased.
Kathy secretly touched the cool piece of metal that was buried in the depths of her large trench coat. The trench coat hiding her many secrets. Secrets that didn’t have the need of being revealed yet.
Kathy apprehensively and immediately shook her head at what he had implied.
“I just need to get a job, please. After my husband’s sudden death, there hasn’t been a way for me to make money!” Kathy’s voice raised higher than she intended it to, and it seemed to make Alfred amused as she continued begging and as he continued rejecting her.
Ms. Hart did not want it to come to this, not again. She didn’t want to have to do it. She quickly thought of a different strategy knowing that Alfred would never give in.
“A-all right, fine. Can you at least walk me home?” she asked in defeat as she put her hand back inside her trench coat to feel the cool piece of sharp metal.
Alfred hesitantly nodded and turned around ready to walk her back home.
Kathy grimaced at his sudden hospitality towards her.
Alfred had no idea what was about to happen, it was almost humorous.
Kathy pulled out the sharp metal that seemed to be beckoning her, as the moonlight reflected off it. With one quick move, Kathy’s only once tainted hands, became tainted for the last time. She plunged the thing that would probably kill her too, into Alfred’s back.
He let out a piercing scream of agony, as he slowly descended to the floor. His six-foot body seemed to fall ever so slowly, taunting and mocking Kathy about what she had just done.
Kathy stood paralyzed, unable to move, “Did I just do that?” she asked herself slowly before she started cackling like a maniac.
“I just did that,” she stated with hyenic laughter, too much in a trance to move.
Alfred’s scream must have alerted someone because Kathy suddenly felt something cold against her wrists. She was still staring at Alfred’s body as someone came and took him away, getting him immediate attention.
Kathy could not look away from what she had just caused. The scene of events seemed to play repeatedly in her mind. The wheels in her head were spinning quickly, the image of what she just did being the one bouncing back and forth throughout her mind.
Even as they took her away, she wasn’t sure if she regretted her decision. How far was she willing to go to be free at last? Was she going mad?
Kathy shivered as she felt her trench coat forcefully being pulled off her. Now she was in the open. No longer safe, was what Kathy Hart was now. Kathy’s eyes brimmed with tears as the once moonlit clear sky, was now filling with clouds. The beautiful moonlight was not shinning anymore, it was gone.
The police that had forcefully put her behind yet another set of bars, walked away and left her alone with her thoughts.
She was locked up, but she felt more freedom than ever before. She didn’t know how many days went by because the merciless clock stopped ticking. She didn’t know how many days went by, when someone came by and told her that Alfred survived.
Kathy stared at the iron bars as Alfred slowly approached her cell one faithful day. He was cautious and didn’t step too close to her.
“So, Kathy, we meet again. Only I don’t see any difference this time. You’re still locked up in a cell and I’m still out here living like a king,” he snickered with a venomous voice as he walked away confidently and pleased.
He didn’t even glance at her, she was apparently that unworthy.
Kathy paid no attention to the words he spoke as she stood staring at the wall. She didn’t regret what she did, it was for the best.
As time went on, she seemed to be rotting in a cage. A cage of self-despair. She was a lonely pet sitting by the store window watching people pass and go, paying absolutely no attention to her.
Late at night she would cry, but she wouldn’t cry with her own tears. Those weren’t Kathy Hart’s tears, they were Kathy Gwen’s. Kathy Hart was strong and independent, while Kathy Gwen lived a life with her husband not having a say in anything.
She felt guilty, her husband wasn’t a horrendous man. Her husband was nice and caring, but somewhere deep inside she detested him. She did not ever regret her decision on killing him or attempting to murder Alfred.
   She no longer longed for freedom but deep down, even as she was being hanged for her crimes, she knew there was truth behind Alfred’s words. And because of what she’d done, because she didn’t run, she could finally be granted the now undesired feeling of freedom through her death.