Little Black Book

*6*      The man checked the address twice before punching in the address into the GPS. The female android voice prompted him the way. He diligently followed the lefts, the rights and the straights, till he reached a road impossible for any vehicle to traverse through. The android woman insisted on heading straight for another 500 meters to reach destination. He found a spot by the side of the road to park. He unclipped his seat belt, checked the gun and the spare magazine. Pulled the phone of its holder on the dashboard, closed the program with the android woman and stepped out. He stood out like a vestigial tail flopping around in the wind. Kids playing cricket on the streets, men drinking tea and women gaily chatting amongst themselves stopped themselves and stared at this abrupt interruption in their routine. He walked to the group of men who held their cups of tea in their hands and cigarettes hanging from their lips. He pulled the cigarette from a man’s...

The man swiped the keycard through the electronic slot and heard the whirring of the lock opening up. He stepped inside and slid the keycard in the slot. The room lit up. He saw the aluminum case resting on the bed. He opened the wardrobe and saw the line of tailored suits, shirts still in their plastic covers with the tag still hanging off them. He pulled open the drawers and smiled as he ran his fingers over the rolled ties and boxes of cufflinks. He kicked off his shoes, removed his socks, stripped and entered the bathroom.      As the hot water sprayed from the shower, he watched the blood run down his body and swirl around the drain. He lifted his head to feel the hot water fall on his face. The tears got swept away with the hot water as his fingers circled his chest where the chain usually lay on his neck. The place he had earmarked to tattoo the tombstone inscriptions of his loved ones the day he retired. He turned the knobs, pulled the towels off the shel...