By: Kat Garcia
Prompt: If I'd known then
If I'd known then...What I knew in the end - I would have never made the absolute worst decision that ended up costing me everything. It cost me not just my life but also my wife's. A decision that would forever change everything. I used poor judgement and was stubborn.
My wife Barbara had asked me over and over again, "Please make sure you lock the security screen door and the front door. We live in a very remote area, we need to be extra cautious."
Most times I would just blow off her comments or act like I hadn't heard her. Or I'd say she was being paranoid and annoying - that she needed to chill out and relax. Then I would go back to watching the game or the news.
It was a regular Tuesday night about 10pm. Barbara and I were watching the news when we heard a knock at the door.
Prompt: If I'd known then
If I'd known then...What I knew in the end - I would have never made the absolute worst decision that ended up costing me everything. It cost me not just my life but also my wife's. A decision that would forever change everything. I used poor judgement and was stubborn.
My wife Barbara had asked me over and over again, "Please make sure you lock the security screen door and the front door. We live in a very remote area, we need to be extra cautious."
Most times I would just blow off her comments or act like I hadn't heard her. Or I'd say she was being paranoid and annoying - that she needed to chill out and relax. Then I would go back to watching the game or the news.
It was a regular Tuesday night about 10pm. Barbara and I were watching the news when we heard a knock at the door.
Barbara said, "If they are knocking on the door, obviously you didn't lock the security screen and if the security screen wasn't locked, i'll bet the front door is unlocked..... so, YOU GET TO ANSWER IT" Barbara's voice was starting to escalate.
"Barbara - I'm trying to watch the news, can you get the door? Also, how about a beer? Sweetheart? Beautiful?" Barbara rolled her eyes,
"Beer, yes - Door, no." We heard the knock again, a bit louder this time. I was irritated,
"What is your problem?" and I stomped toward the door.
"My problem is you're lazy, it's late and we live in the middle of nowhere. Someone is beating on the door and you are sending ME to answer it!" She walked away and said, "and by the way get your own beer!" She dropped the towel in the washer, grabbed her rings and started up the stairs.
I walked over and looked out the window. It was a stranger in black clothes with a black bandanna around his neck, black tattoos covering his arms head and big black boots. The only stand out feature besides all the black was the shoulder length red hair that looked like it needed to be washed. Barbara had been right, I should have been smarter and locked the security door. The stranger held the security door open as he knocked harder and I noticed the door itself was unlocked. Suddenly I felt very vulnerable. I thought to myself that maybe I should stop giving Barbara such a hard time.
I said loud enough for the stranger to hear - "Can I help you?"
"Yes Sir. May I use your phone? My car has broken down and I do not own a cell phone."
I replied, "I'm not comfortable having a stranger in the house, but I will pass the phone to you. One moment.." and I walked away, hoping the stranger wouldn't touch the door and find out that it was not locked. I got the phone and started to open the door when the stranger kicked it open and I fell backwards, hitting my head - I was unconscious.
The knife wounds were too deep and too many to save me. I had bled out from being stabbed 41 times. My wife was assaulted and beaten and died 30 minutes later. After we were both gone, the man in black simply left - without touching anything. For the stranger in black, it was not about the robbery, it was about the kill, about seeing his handiwork on the news.
So if I'd known then what I knew then what I knew in the end, I would have skipped telling my wife to chill out and that she was paranoid and annoying. I would have listened - I would have dropped the attitude and listened. Maybe offer advice or comments.
Lastly and most importantly, if I'd known then what I knew in the end - I'd always, always lock all the doors.
"Barbara - I'm trying to watch the news, can you get the door? Also, how about a beer? Sweetheart? Beautiful?" Barbara rolled her eyes,
"Beer, yes - Door, no." We heard the knock again, a bit louder this time. I was irritated,
"What is your problem?" and I stomped toward the door.
"My problem is you're lazy, it's late and we live in the middle of nowhere. Someone is beating on the door and you are sending ME to answer it!" She walked away and said, "and by the way get your own beer!" She dropped the towel in the washer, grabbed her rings and started up the stairs.
I walked over and looked out the window. It was a stranger in black clothes with a black bandanna around his neck, black tattoos covering his arms head and big black boots. The only stand out feature besides all the black was the shoulder length red hair that looked like it needed to be washed. Barbara had been right, I should have been smarter and locked the security door. The stranger held the security door open as he knocked harder and I noticed the door itself was unlocked. Suddenly I felt very vulnerable. I thought to myself that maybe I should stop giving Barbara such a hard time.
I said loud enough for the stranger to hear - "Can I help you?"
"Yes Sir. May I use your phone? My car has broken down and I do not own a cell phone."
I replied, "I'm not comfortable having a stranger in the house, but I will pass the phone to you. One moment.." and I walked away, hoping the stranger wouldn't touch the door and find out that it was not locked. I got the phone and started to open the door when the stranger kicked it open and I fell backwards, hitting my head - I was unconscious.
The knife wounds were too deep and too many to save me. I had bled out from being stabbed 41 times. My wife was assaulted and beaten and died 30 minutes later. After we were both gone, the man in black simply left - without touching anything. For the stranger in black, it was not about the robbery, it was about the kill, about seeing his handiwork on the news.
So if I'd known then what I knew then what I knew in the end, I would have skipped telling my wife to chill out and that she was paranoid and annoying. I would have listened - I would have dropped the attitude and listened. Maybe offer advice or comments.
Lastly and most importantly, if I'd known then what I knew in the end - I'd always, always lock all the doors.