Virginia had spent her time outside, away from Cornelius this past week. The weather
hadn't gotten warmer so she and Seraphina bundled up in their warmest clothing. Joanna had
came to visit, the women stood watching the snowfall while Seraphina played with a
wagon.
"How are you?" Joanna asked.
"Fine." Virginia smiled. Joanna noticed a change in her characteristics, she no longer
wore a genuine smile but a Mona Lisa grin. Her eyes hollow, and her reactions mundane.
"Joanna, if anything ever happens to me..take Sera." Virginia whispered.
"Why would something happen to you?" Joanna's eyes widened. Virginia looked at the
mansion and then back at Joanna as to suggest something. "Virginia?"
Virginia took a deep breath "come on, it's getting cold." the three of them walked back to
warm up inside. Joanna felt she should invite Virginia and Seraphina to her house but would that
make things worse between Virginia and Cornelius? When they stepped into the mansion, it felt
cold, lifeless even. Cornelius sat filing papers per usual.
"Hi ladies." he said without looking up from his papers. Suddenly the phone rang, he
answered it. "hello?..I'll be right over." he ended the call, "I have to run to the office, I'll be back
soon." he put his coat on and waved them goodbye before leaving.
That evening, Virginia baked a pie for her and the girls. An apple pie. She put on a record
and had a glass of wine with Joanna after putting Sera to bed. They reminisced over good times and
had a few good laughs, enjoying their time without Cornelius lurking around with a bitter frown.
Finally Joanna headed home in the dark with only a lanturn, Virginia offered the guest room but
she politely declined.
As Virginia was winding down for bed, she glanced in the mirror. She noticed her bleached
hair had more of a brassy color to it now. Underneath the layers of artificial beauty the real Virginia
was there. She wept, hoping that Cornelius would never return home and that night she went to bed
in peace without his presence, but in the dead of night he awaited her.
A cold gust of air woke Virginia, as she felt herself being carried, tossed over somebody's
shoulder, she thought she was being abducted but a potent smell of cologne gave it away. She
realized she was outside and when she was more alert she started to move. Suddenly she was
thrown on the ground, laying in the snow in only a gown, she shivered. She looked up seeing
her husband's face.
"What are you doing?!" she said in fear.
"You're hideous." Cornelius said, "You're only going to get worse, I have to preserve the
least bit of beauty that's left." Virginia attempted to crawl away but he stepped on her back causing
her to fall. "I was going to kill you first, so you wouldn't suffer, but since you want to be a bitch
over everything well, here we are."
"Cornelius, we have a baby! This isn't who you are.." she cried, "where's my loving man?"
"Dead. Now stop crying, it shows your wrinkles." he hissed, "now get in." he pointed to
a tub next to a water hose and multiple gallons of water. Virginia didn't budge, too weak. "Oh, you
are so helpless!" he picked her up by the arm and drug her to the metal tub, she put up a fight but
he easily overpowered her. She screamed as he threw her in and began to spray freezing water over
her as he held her down with one hand, drowning her in the process. When the bubbles stopped, he
looked at the corpse of his wife. She wasn't as pretty as he imagined she would be.
He left her out there to freeze overnight, he knew no one would see the tub, they had no neighbors
and there was at least a foot of snow. Once she was frozen he would put her underneath the house
next to his mother and wait twenty years before he committed his next murder. He laughed as he
walked back up the hill and began to sing that song that
Virginia was always humming.
"Each day I paint my face, until I'm blue, until I'm blue.
But don't fret for this is nothing new, nothing new.
when they put me in the ground, six feet down, six feet down."
THE END
YOU ARE READING
Frostbite
Short Story"One must suffer to be beautiful" - Frederick Buechner When a man's admiration for his wife's beauty becomes an obsession. The ending will leave you.. frozen in shock.
