Roses are red. Blood is too

“I’m home,” Tunde said as he stepped into his house. He found it strange that the lights weren’t turned on when he parked in the garage. Usually, he would have been welcomed by the sweet sound of Kemi’s voice and a warm hug from her, melting away his stress after a tedious workday. But, for the first time in their 3 years of marriage, Kemi wasn’t there to receive him.

Instead, he found a path of petals and lit candles waiting for him.

“What’s going on here?” He grinned as he followed the petals into the kitchen.

“Kemi.”  He opened the door but didn’t find her, only more petals and candles… and a note. it was written in red on the kitchen wall:

Happy Valentine’s Day My Love

I have a surprise for you.

But you have to come find me.
Your Love.

“What kind of woman writes on the walls? She’s coming back to clean it after all this is over.” Tunde smiled, happy he married such a romantic. She went through the trouble of doing all these just for a silly celebration.

“What a finished woman.” Shaking his head, he smelled the roses on the kitchen counter thinking he would catch her sweet scent mixed into them, but he smelled something else. It smelled like rust. He knew this smell but could not place it. He pushed it to the back of his mind and left the kitchen. The petal paths lead him to different rooms, with more writings on the walls, all saying the same thing:

Come find me.

Tunde arrived in front of a room. Although it was the end of the petal path, he knew the night was far from when he arrived at their bedroom. He gave a mischievous smile as he opened the door.

“I’ve finally found…” The room was empty. No Kemi or flowers. Only a candle and a small letter on the bed stand. He picked it up and read it.

Roses are red

Blood is too

Violets are blue.

Just like your veins.

Come find me soon

Before I grow cold.

“What kind of sick joke is this woman playing?” Tunde sighed. He knew his wife was obsessed with horror and crime movies, but he didn’t think she’d take it this far.  Tunde crumpled the note in his hands, and that was when he noticed the letter was damp and in the candle’s faint illumination was unevenly dyed red. He picked odd the same rusty smell again but this time he knew what it was the rusty smell of blood. Tunde worked in an abattoir as a child and he was familiar with the feel and smell of blood. The scene of pigs strung up and bleeding came to his mind as he ran out of the room and dashed to the only room he hadn’t been to—the attic.

Roses are red, blood is too.” He hoped this was a very sick prank when he arrived at the door, the smell came crashing down on him. Frightened, he tried to open it, praying deep down that it wasn’t what he was thinking. But the door didn’t budge. 

“Kemi!” He shouted while banging on the door without receiving a response. He kicked down the door as he was left with no choice.

Tunde saw her. His wife. Her limp corpse bled out and hung from the ceiling, with the same words written on the walls with her blood.

Roses are red, blood is too.

Happy Valentine’s Day My Love.

A note from the Penman

Happy Valentine’s Day to all lovers out there. If you enjoyed reading this, don’t forget to like, comment and share. You can read more creative pieces like this here.

PS: If you have plans for Valentine’s, remember: roses are red, blood is too. So be safe out there…

-Photo from Wikimedia Commons

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