Taking care of Mum

Letter from a loving son...

Dear Mum

This short letter is by way of an apology for the way I've ignored you since Dad died. For years I've had little contact with you and even less with him and, although I partly blamed him for this breakdown in communication, I should have been there for you after he'd gone. But it was difficult for me.

Now I've realised that it's about time I took care of you, Mum.

I'm sure you were not aware of this but while I was at university I was recruited into the secret service and licensed to quietly take out people who HM's government felt necessary to remove. I make this confession to you in mitigation for my actions. You see, Dad found out, I don't know how. That's why he had to go. I made it look like natural causes. I assure you he felt no pain. That's what I do. No big bangs, just goodnight, Vienna.

I just had to get this off my chest, Mum. Sorry to burden you with this confession, but the process of writing this out has eased my mind.

Trouble is, now I've told you, you know too much, which means I need to take care of you, too. And you know what that means.

If you check the envelope, yes, that's it. There's no stamp, is there? That means it was hand delivered and I'm here, now, knocking on your door, taking care of you. That is what I do. Sorry about that, really I am.

I'm just taking care of you, Mum, that's all.

Regards, your ever loving son, Michael. XXX.


Epilogue

"Hello, dear, long time no see. Come on in out of the cold, sweetheart, but wipe your feet, I've just hoovered. Now, be a pet and find my glasses, would you? I've put then down God knows where."

Reviews

[Marie]

This is what I call black humor. Very good. But I think you could have left off the epilogue. The story works well without it.

[Tony Spencer]

My take on this was that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If Michel is devious and able to control his emotions to the point where he could calmly carry out his role, would his mother be able to bluff her way through. The epilogue adds a complication at the end: does he kill her anyway, or because the act of writing has already purged his sole does he offer to read the letter and tell Mother it is hate mail or something. Without the epilogue I felt the end too predictable. I take your point though, that the story works well without, sometimes I just want to squeeze something extra out of it.

[Marie]

Okay; I get it.