A short story.

Karma wrapped up as a Birthday Gift……

Be-careful what you wish for………………

As he lay there looking up to the sky and his life blood spilling out slowly onto the gravel and tarmac of the road he realised that he had been a selfish, thoughtless and spoilt brat most of his life. Even at 17 nothing was ever good enough for him.

Reflecting over his life he had used the fact that his father had left his mother for another women as a weapon; drawing on emotions and ideas from the many nights trawling through forums on the Internet of young people in the same situations. How can you turn a bad thing into a good thing right?  It didn’t matter that the consequences may be good for him, and totally destroy his own mothers self esteem the end result would be he would do good by it.

Never once did he think that his mother was entitled to have some happiness in her life his only focus was on his own selfish needs.

When she found a man she really loved he decided that the attention had totally come off him, and was transferred to this person who was there all the time and had taken a place in his mothers heart which did not include him.  How to get rid of him was his only thoughts.  He wasn’t about to loose his cushy life after all he deserved it didn’t he?  He couldn’t ever remember asking to be born, they wanted him then they needed to pay for his lifestyle it was as simple as that.   Yes he really had milked it for all it was worth.

The days his mother had to work overtime to put food on the table wasnt enough for him, oh know he had to have the best of everything or else he would throw a tantrum, slam doors, rage, and cry “you don’t love me why did you bother having me”?  Guilt tripping his mother once more into buying him the latest gadgets out of guilt.

Finally though, she had began to be happy, he hated it. She went around the house smiling and singing and Uncle Paul would be there as per usual doing things for her in the house. No enough was enough, he had to go.

He had hatched a plan simple really, just make Uncle Paul’s life here miserable he would soon get fed up and leave. Oh yes let the plans begin.

He started slowly so as not to be too obvious, and after a few weeks turned up the heat and got more and more obnoxious.

His mother instead of smiling and singing around the house was now head down, shoulders slumped and she had lost that sparkle that edge, he almost felt guilty about what he was doing to her, but soon pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, sentimentality was not in his vocabulary.

Then finally, the day came, when the spare key belonging to Uncle Paul was left on the kitchen table, and he had gone, like he had never existed. Bliss.  Time to put into place phase II of his plan.

It was a pretty simple one he would ingratiate himself back into his mothers heart and then …….. well start to demand again.   It was easier then he thought.  His mother was broken, so he took Uncle Paul’s place and slowly became the man of the house again.

Only last week his mother had asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He knew he wanted an upgrade now on his stupid moped he was going to be seventeen and could finally upgrade to a 125cc. He already had his provisional licence and completed successfully his CBT so now he could think more about it. He had his eye on a Yamaha YZF-R125 for weeks now his friend Jake got one and it was really cool looking. It didn’t matter that the price tag was over £4,000 new.  The insurance was ridiculous but who cared mother can deal with it and pay for it. His mother would just have to do more shifts at the care home she worked at.

He didn’t care it was his RIGHT to have it, she needed to be punished for locking him out of her heart for so many months and replacing him with that prat “Uncle Paul” well he showed them who was boss didn’t he, the puppet master strikes again as he walked off chuckling to himself at that thought.

His mother looked at him in horror when he told her what he wanted.

She told him “NO” not a chance i simply can’t afford that. He started to do his usual rant and rage which he was getting good at and he could see he was slowly winning as her eyes glazed over, her shoulders drooped and sagged, and she quietly said, ok I will have to just buy it on my credit card if that is what you want.

He had won again the puppet master was becoming an expert………….god it was getting easier and easier.

Whilst he had her attention he threw in well if you don’t mind mum, could you add a new mobile.  I really want the new Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus (yes you guessed it one of his mates had one), as my old phone is playing me up. If you get me the bike then I need a reliable phone so you know that I am safe.

I tell you what mum as he walked slowly towards her with one of his winning smiles (oh yes he knew how to turn the charm on when he wanted something), I promise that from now on I will do more in the house for you hell I will even do the dishes how does that sound. He moved closer and touched her arm and looked directly into her eyes smiling all the time………….she crumbled he knew she would.

So it was all arranged, a trip to the bike shop to secure the bike. On his birthday he got the phone, and sent off for his upgrade on his insurance so he could collect the bike and he couldn’t wait to hop on the bus and collect his new toy so he could show off to his mates.

He had no problems collecting the bike, and decided after filling the tank with some juice he would take it for a spin. He had put his helmet on, made sure his mobile phone was secure in his jacket pocket (didn’t want that falling out), and off he went.

He took the road towards the countryside. Where he lived it was a mixture of housing, industrial estates and wooded areas, actually in the spring which it was; the scenery if you had a mind to appreciating it was pretty neat.

He drove onto the back roads through a copse of trees which were lined both sides it looked quite spooky in the morning light but he didn’t have his mind on that at all, he was revving his new baby up to see what it was capable of. He took in a deep breathe and a twist of the throttle the road was clear he was going to enjoy this.

Copyright Miranda Turner-Sterling

He never saw the stag suddenly in the middle of the road. He hit it full on the antlers piercing his chest and pushing him flying sideways off his bike with the deer being dragged along with the force of his speed.

He finally ended up on the road edge on his back looking up through his helmet visor he could just see the trees above him. Somehow the stag had disengaged itself and was laying in the middle of the road laying still with its life blood or his pouring into a pool by it’s side, its tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth almost touching the floor and its eyes were open almost mockingly glaring at him with a glare that made his blood run cold the stare turned lifeless and it sighed a weird noise and he knew instinctively it had died.

He had no pain just lay there and got his thoughts together trying not too panic as he could see the blood thick on the antlers dripping onto the road and realised it was probably his own blood. Suddenly adrenaline kicking in, he managed to locate his phone, and with a strength borne of desperation he hit speed dial 1 for mum but there was NOTHING, he could see the screen and it showed clearly NO SIGNAL……………………… He desperately wanted to speak to his mum but he realised he couldn’t it was all too late he would leave her and after the way he had behaved he felt there would be little or no tears of his passing he had laid down his legacy it was all too late. He had lost the one good thing in his life for ever.

They say just before you die your life flashes by which it had as he lay there reflecting on the life he had; his very last thought as his life blood left him was of his mother looking at Uncle Paul who was holding her gently.  He could see it clearly they were stood there and so were his friends and the coffin which was slowly being lowered into a grave at his funeral……..she had a little smile at the corners of her mouth and he heard her say quite clearly I am glad your gone you deserved to die like that I kept telling you karma would come and kick you in the arse but you never believed me she had a look in her face of pure evil and really smiling and started to laugh hysterically. She was shouting and shaking him hard Brian Brian wake up wake up. Suddenly he took a huge breath inwards and woke up.

He was looking up at his mother who was shaking him really hard still, and he realised with relief it had all been a bizarre dream she was there in front of him he was in his bed in his bedroom.

Relief flooded over him and he started to cry uncontrollably, “mum mum, I dreamt I had died it was horrible so horrible…….. I am so sorry so sorry mum. I cant believe how much i must have hurt you. I will change I will. She looked at him with a weird look in her eyes, and suddenly he could see in the gloom of the morning light in his bedroom that part of her was missing……….she seemed to have stopped from the middle of her body and appeared to have no arms bloody stumps the rest of her had gone decapitated by the train she had walked in front of to forget her guilt…….

Your too late son your too late, when they found you dead in the road I realised it was all my fault, and I just couldn’t cope with the guilt of it anymore it was all up to me, I should have been a better parent. When I saw how you had died I couldn’t live with myself anymore my death was quick but you bullied me so much my life was over ruined it was easier not to face it anymore.

Now we are together and I have been given the authority to set your punishment……..her eyes were red and evil as she looked at him with hatred. He realised she had changed suddenly and was an entity surrounded by fire with a tail and what appeared to be a pointed 3 pronged fork she suddenly appeared to him as the devil a she devil.

He knew his fate had been sealed.
Image copyright and licence paid do not copy.

Don’t you think you are going to get away with it easy she said, as she opened up a hole in the floor by pointing downwards with the fork, and he suddenly found himself spiralling downwards where it was getting warmer and warmer and he could hear screaming and crying mixed with raucous laughter insane laughter coming from above his head he knew it was his mother and she was enjoying every minute of his punishment as she watched him going down and down towards the fire of hell………………………….yes sure Karma is a bitch and just be careful as it can come back and bite you hard on the ass just when you think your safe………………………

The moral of the story is simple, don’t piss your mother off they always know best.

He was falling downwards to the fire of hell.


(Copyright Zenda Trim)
