One is the loneliest number

Susan sat quivering, hunched in the corner of her room, eyes wide in pure terror as she heard her daughter's voice call from downstairs again

"Hurry up mommy, we're gonna be late for school!"

In front of her, a half-drunk glass of wine she had dropped lay forgotten, its contents seeping into the beige carpet.

Shivering, she tried to press herself further back into the dark corner, her mind racing as memories of the car crash that killed her husband and daughter just last year came flooding back. After months of painful solitude, she had decided she needed more than wine and pills to get by. Tonight would have been her first date since that fateful evening. She had met Walter on an online site for Widows, and they instantly hit it off over their mutual love of red wines and chicken casseroles.

Now, she sat in pitch darkness, huddled in terror in her room.. as the ghostly voices kept calling to her from downstairs. Slowly, she began to inch herself up the wall, eyes firmly fixed on the blackness in the doorway as her shaking hand blindly fumbled for the bottle of Merlot on the nightstand. Upon finding it, grasped it firmly by the neck, bringing it in quickly to take a long swig.

Barely fifteen minutes ago, she had been trying on cocktail dresses and contrasting shades of lipstick for when Walter arrived. She looked at the clock.. ten minutes past eight. He had said he would be here promptly at 8:30. Then, the power went out plunging the house into pitch-black darkness. Moments later, the haunting voice of her dead daughter began calling her from downstairs, freezing her in place just as she was going to investigate.

No, this was just a hallucination, she thought to herself, I've simply had too much to drink. Her mind fumbled with the lie in her head; knowing she had barely drunk two glasses; with a quarter of that now soaked into the carpet at her feet. She took a quick swig of wine from the bottle, pausing briefly even in her state of sheer panic to frown at herself. This response was not lady-like. And this was certainly not how a bottle of 2009 Baudelaire Valley Merlot should be treated. She glanced back to the two evening dresses she had laid out on the bed, one a seductive red and the other an emerald green. She should continue to get dressed. Walter will be here soon, and she would look quite silly in just her nightgown.

Another cry from the kitchen brought Susan sharply back to reality. "MOMMY! Hurry Up!" She jumped in sheer terror then looked to the window; thankful the voice was content with staying in the kitchen. Her thoughts turned to escape. She began to back across the room, knuckles white around the neck of the bottle, pausing only briefly to steady herself on the nightstand for a moment, before turning lurching forward toward the window; "MOMMY ARE YOU UP THERE?" The ghostly child's voice was on the stairs now, she knew it. She could feel it.

She rapidly climbed out the window, still clutching the half-empty bottle of wine as the occasional splashes of Merlot sloshed out of the bottle onto the dusty shingles. Not bothering to close the window, crawled away up towards the middle. She paused to listen and heard only the breeze of the cool night air. Now again feeling quite silly, she stood up and steadied herself then turned to look into the open window expecting the worst. Darkness there and nothing more. The air at night feels good, she thought, maybe they can have a picnic out here. She twirled lightly in her nightgown and smiled. Then, from the darkness, she heard a faint whisper "Do come inside mommy, it's cold out there."

Detective Lombargo looked at the body sprawled face down on the lawn, arms stretched out almost as though she had been attempting to fly.

"Name of this fine lady?" Lombargo asked quietly.

"Susan Derkins, Widow." replied Detective Hutz.

"The lady who lost her husband and daughter last October? I remember. The devestating car accident by Jewel Lake... Father and daughter both drowned. Heartbreaking. At least she doesn't have to worry about that anymore. Anything in the house?"

Hutz shrugged slightly "Just a laptop in the kitchen with old family youtube videos playing. The table was set with a vase of fresh flowers, two glasses of wine-both untouched, and a dish of what appears to be a chicken casserole in the center. Other than that, the house was empty, lights were all off, the front door was locked and the windows were all closed. Appears to be a by the book suicide"

Detective Lombargo took one last look at the body as the coroner pulled up and slowly led her partner away from the scene. He looked quite visibly shaken, she could understand she felt empty inside herself. As they got to their car, Detective Hutz took one last look at the yard. "It's as if she had planned to fly away and never come back" he whispered. "I suppose in a way, she did".