A Foul Deed

by Clara Wersterfer

 

Today I took a life. My only defense is fright. It wasn't as if she hadn't been warned. I told her to stay out of my car. It was my personal property and she was trespassing. I also told her she was endangering others, but she would not listen. I gave her fair warning.

The following day, I got in the car, saw no evidence that she had been there, and felt safe. My feeling of security faded, however when the first traffic light made me stop. Here she came, just as brazen as you please.

She knew I was afraid of her, but she took a perverse pleasure in threatening me in my own car!

Dropping down directly in front of my face was a big, black, hairy spider.

Still not wanting to do her harm, I lowered the window and tried to push her out, she turned and jumped on me! That's when I became alarmed, grabbed a tissue from the box and squashed her. Just as I placed the tissue in my litter bag, the light changed to green. I sped away from the murder scene. I had done her in, in less than a minute. Oh! Woe is me!

After several blocks remorse crept in.

When you act in haste, you repent at leisure.

At first it was just a feeling of guilt, then I started feeling compassion for my victim. My mind said, "You knew she wasn't a black widow, no red spot on her back.

She was black, so she wasn't a brown recluse. She probably wasn't poisonous." What had I done? Surely I could have gotten her out the window. Why did I have to act so quickly and smush her?

She might have made a web to trap mosquitoes that could have carried the deadly heart worm to an animal or even worse, several bad viruses to humans.

It was too late. The foul deed had been committed. There was no turning back.

To whom should I confess?

No judge or jury would believe it was self defense, size considered.

There's nothing left to do that would help.

I can't bring her back.  I will have to live with my guilty conscience forever.

I expect it will have to remain my secret. Unless........you won't tell, will you?