˃ Crime stories published in English :
OUT
OF THE BLUE
by Carla Vermaat
His
dinner had gone cold. By now,
the food was spoiled. Bea had
finished hers hours ago. She
knew she’d have to throw his away, but something held her back.
She
frowned. The sour smell of
spinach was beginning to irritate her.
She knew that reheated spinach wasn’t any good.
She really ought to throw
it away, but that seemed like such a waste.
She could certainly warm up the three leftover meatballs, and the
potatoes would be fine. But
the spinach?
She
finally began to clear the table. Piling the dishes next to the sink; the
washing up could wait for morning.
The cuckoo on the wall announced that it was 11 o’clock. She went to the window and drew the curtains shut. Aart wouldn’t be home tonight.
A LONG-CHERISHED DREAM by Carla Vermaat
Now he stood deathly still at the edge of the terrace, his heart heavy with anxiety. Unable to even imagine the consequences of his discovery, he just stood there shaking his head. His dream, cherished for so long, flickered like a silent film on the screen of his mind. With a certainty as stifling as a fist clamped around his throat, he suddenly knew that his dream would never become a reality. Even if he were able to finish laying out his tiled pathways and planting his flowerbeds, he would never be able to enjoy them. Not now, now that he’d recognized that shape in the dirt.
With Emma only a few
meters away, preparing their afternoon tea in the kitchen, he felt a sense
of urgency. He took a deep
breath and leaned heavily on his spade
handle. He noticed that his
thoughts had slowed, that he was having trouble weighing the few
alternatives that were open to him. His
head seemed wreathed in the same troubling fog that also limited his
ability to see clearly. His
knees were weak, trembling, and he worried that he might keel over at any
moment.
(Translated from the Dutch by Josh Pachter)