Mnimi

1 - Eugene

His hand trembles and the gun rattles in his grip. He's ready to pull the trigger again and there's no one here to stop him. No one that cares enough to stop him, anyway. Sweat drips down the side of his neck, and he heaves as looks at the clock ticking away. He doesn't really want to shoot her. He loves her. He's loved her since they were in grade-school, but things are different now. He doesn't really have a choice now. She pushed him too far this time. So did Trey. Poor Trey.

Laura's on her knees. The tip of Eugene's gun pressed hard against her forehead. Tears run down her cheeks, black from the make-up, and she's shaking worse than he is. On the floor next to her is Trey's body. Trey was her boyfriend and Eugene's best friend. Of course, that was before Eugene blew a hole in his chest.

"P-p-please, Eugene," she says, slowly raising her hands toward the gun. Her cheeks are red and her eyes are all puffy. Her face is a hot mess of sweat and snot and Trey's blood. I wonder if Eugene still finds her cute now.

"Put your hands down!" he snarls, pushing the gun into her forehead. She loses balance for a second and... I don't know. I suppose I could do something. I mean, that's the socially acceptable thing to do, right? Oh, God. When did I turn into one of them? Okay, whatever. Here goes.

"Hey Eugene," I say. I might as well be talking to the sofa. His eyes are fixed on the girl. Veins bulge from his forehead. "Dude, Eugene. Hear me out, man. I can get you out of this."

"Shut up, Mnimi!" he says through gritted teeth. "I'm not getting out of this. I'm already fucked. I shot Trey."

"Yes," I nod, walking around them both and stopping behind Laura. I put my hands on her shoulders and look into Eugene's eyes. "You're right. You're pretty fucked. But here's the thing. You might not have to be. Remember? My little gift?"

Slowly, both of their eyes turn to meet mine. I'm not sure which one of them looks more confused.

"It's simple, really," I say, as I take a knee and rest my chin on Laura's shoulder. "I can make it so this pretty girl remembers whatever I want her to remember."

His eyes widen with realization and he steps back pulling the gun away from Laura's head.

"You're welcome," I whisper in her ear before standing up.

"Y-y-you could!" says Eugene, pointing the gun at me. "You could make her believe he did it to himself. That. That I. That I tried to stop him, but he pushed me. Knocked me down. And then he shot himself!"

"No!" Laura says and tries to stand but Eugene is right back on her with that damned gun. Stupid girl. Can't you see what I'm doing. Just play along.

"Yes," I say. "I can do that. I can even make her remember all sorts of other things. Happy memories. Romantic memories. Eugene, I can make her fall in love with you."

She squeezes her eyes shut and takes my hand.

"Sorry, Sweetheart," I say. "Eugene's my boy. You fucked him over. Can't let you get away with that. But don't worry. I'll make sure the two of you are so happy together. No need to remember any of this."

"Yes!" Eugene breaks into a deranged smile, pulling the gun away again. "Yes. So happy. I can make you so happy, Laura. You'll see. So happy when we're together. You'll see."

She opens her lips to speak but I squeeze her hand and she bites her tongue. Good girl. Keep this up and you may live to see another day.

"You know how this works, though," I say, standing. "To do what I do, she needs to lie down, and she needs to relax." He looks at the gun in his hand, then lowers it slowly.