The Online Profile of a Serial Killer - Part 6
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Posted on June 30, 2015
Waking up in the cloud-filtered sunlight, I thought of Mindy. I arose from my squeaking mattress on the floor and walked half-naked into the living room. The windows were drawn wide open and the building across the street could see me, but I didn't care.
Sitting in front of my laptop, waiting for it to load, I fought the burning urge to piss. My appetite to see Mindy again overpowered the stinging feeling between my legs. I waited on the sofa fidgeting - my thighs spreading a part then coming together again, over and over in a steady beat.
On Facebook, Mindy's page was unchanged, and I smiled, satisfied. I checked my email and saw a new message from POF waiting for me. The message was from GlowWorm, replying to a pervious message. She wrote:
GlowWorm
6/30/2015 7:13:26 AM
Thank you for the kind words. Would like to get to know you, too. I'm old fashioned, so dinner would be great.
But I didn't want to get to know the person behind GlowWorm. Her reality was a mystery. With Mindy, there was no mystery, and I knew she would never change.
I ran to the toilet, dropped my boxers and a stream of piss rushed out. I exhaled a sigh as the sound of piss hitting water echoed off tiled walls, and I wondered what I would do for the rest of the day - but I could only think of Mindy.
I entered Akiko Sushi Bar and looked around. The restaurant was narrow and stretched way back into a shadowy rear area. Mindy's photo was taken by the restaurant's only window, so that's where I sat. Yes - this was where the photo was taken -- her salmon sashimi dinner in the sunlight. She captioned it "my fave!" and then tagged Akiko Sushi Bar.
When a server finally approached, he smiled with crooked teeth and removed a pen and paper from his black apron. He stared at me with his pen hovering over the pad, and I presumed he didn't know English. I ordered the salmon sashimi platter - Mindy's favorite.
On the center of the table perched a burning candle encased in a small glass bowl. I tilted the bowl to its side and the melted wax poured away from the wick, the flame growing larger and the bowl feeling warmer in my hand. My eyes blurred into a day dream of Mindy on the beach, warm under the sun.
Six minutes passed and the server returned with a wooden block with eight pieces of salmon sashimi lined up in a single row. I stuffed a slab of salmon into my mouth and each chew reminded me why I never liked the texture of raw fish. Mindy was such an eclectic eater, I thought.
Later that day, I visited the path that Mindy walked the day before she died. The paved path followed the Humber River down through the bird conservation area, underneath the 427 overpass, and through a field of long yellow grass. The sun hung low over the horizon, glaring through the grass tips, making the insects shine like swirling and jumping points of light.
This was one of Mindy's favorite spots to jog in the summer. I hiked down the path hugging its right edge as cyclists and rollerbladers passed me on the left. I hit a bend in the river and I recognized another one of Mindy's photos - it was the last photo she had ever taken.
In the photo, sunlight shimmered off the surface of the river. I stepped off the paved path and into the long grass leading to the water. The tips of the blades of grass grazed my legs, itching the skin around my calves. On the river bank, the smell of wet soil pervaded my nostrils. I sighed as a warm breeze rolled over me. Fixed on the sparkling water, I paused and drew in a long breath.
The caption on her photo was: "Happy"
Continued in Part 7.