The Sixth Bio of Christmas

Lightning crashed, illuminating Malren’s face as he trudged through the night.

He does not remember why he was out wandering in the rain this night; he just knows it has something to do with his wife. He remembers the young stranger he met this evening, and the promise that all his pain would vanish tonight.

He knows he must get home to teach the woman a lesson … so he trudges through the night.

At his door, his presence is barred. Anger fills Malren’s mind as he hurls himself at the wooden door.

Malren notices an interesting thing: he hears his shoulder crack, but he feels no pain. He knows that the heavy wooden door should be battering his body, but his mind does not register the abuse.

The door finally gives way at the hinges. Malren is greeted with the sight of a fire and a small woman glaring at him.

“I told you never to come back here!” she shouts at him, raising a pan to warn him away.

Rage begins to build in Malren and his vision reddens around the edges. With each passing second, the rage builds, and his vision becomes darker; soon he can’t see anything at all.

When the rage subsides and his vision returns, Malren sees that he is standing over the crumpled form of his wife. He feels his strength waning--gravity pulls him to his knees. He teeters there for a moment, then starts to fall forward. His mind instructs his arms to catch himself, but he has no control. Malren collapses in a heap next to his wife, staring into her open and lifeless eyes.

He has but one thought as darkness fades upon him forever.

Nicholas Esenwein watched through a window as the macabre scene played out before him.

“Interesting,” he murmured, before vanishing into the night.

ZBeeblebrox,