By M. Odom
Tim, weak and disoriented from his fever, awoke to the familiar sound of the stairs creaking under Jane’s weight as she approached the bedroom. He wondered if her bruises had healed; she switched on the lamp revealing reminders of the fight they had the week before, and written in black and blue across her once beautiful face was the answer to his question. Counting on the forgiveness she had shown him before, he closed his eyes, and for a moment was happy to have the cold rag she had brought with her, even if it was over his nose and mouth.
The story left me wondering about the fate of the protagonist, Tim. Was he just feverish or did he die by the end of the poem? I asked myself the questions because of the last line.
… closed his eyes and for a moment was happy to have the cold rag….. even if it was over his nose and mouth.
Jane wouldn’t have covered him up that way, had he been alive. You can cover a feverish person with a blanket or rags upto his/her neck. You will only put it over his nose, mouth or face if life has ebbed out and away.
Nonplussed, I scrolled back up and looked at the title once more.
“Corona Casualties”. Tim must have been a goner, another victim, another casualty due to the Corona pandemic. But why is the story entitled ” Corona Casualties”? Why has the author used the plural form of casualty? Was it mainly to show that Tim was another addition to the huge loss of life or did I miss out something in the process?
Whatever the case, these uncertainties simply added to the charm of the story.
Thank you, Mr. M. Odom for the story.
Tim beat his wife shortly before he fell ill. For a change, he was at her mercy and she seized the opportunity to smother him. That’s the way I interpreted the story.
That Tim beat his wife, Jane, black and blue, is quite clear from the story. Question is – Did Jane also fall a prey to Corona?
Thanks for your interpretation of the story.
Perhaps the wife “fell” to Corona in the sense that the forced and prolonged isolation with her husband fueled the fire of his violence.
I agree. I interpreted the story as them being in lockdown together where she had no escape from his violence until he succumbed to the virus and she was able to take her revenge. A clever little story ??
Exactly.
Jane took his sickness as an opportunity for revenge and smothered him,
Thank you for the nice story, Mr. M odom. I’d also like to extend my apologies for using the word ‘poem’ instead of ‘story’ while commenting on your story for the first time. The mistake was completely accidental.
I was hoping to hear from you and now you have opened up, all my questions regarding the fate of Jane and her relationship with Tim have been answered.
Thank you once more for the well-crafted story.
Stay safe and blessed.
Tough critics on this site sometimes. I liked this and thought it well written. Nice job.