Ashes

The phoenix watched as she closed up her coffee shop and walked to her car.

The phoenix had been watching her for over two weeks now. She always took the same route; left on Pine lane, right on Canon Street then right onto Ashby Avenue. Number Twenty Ashby Avenue was where she lived. The phoenix had found her one night and after doing some research and it turned out that she indeed was the one. She was the chosen one, handpicked by all the forces in nature. And so the phoenix watched her and plotted every single move.

The woman parked her car in the driveway then looked up at her garage. She really needed to clean it out before winter came. She pulled out her house keys and made her way to the side door. It was a chilly night and she was glad that she had chosen to wear her jacket. She never heard the footsteps following her to the door. She never saw the dark figure closing in on her. All she felt was pair of hands grabbing her head, pain across her neck then black as she sank into the darkness never to see light again.

The phoenix watched as the woman slid to the floor blood gushing from her neck and back. She uttered no cry; there was no time for that. It was a quick and painless though a bit messy. The phoenix wiped the knife on the woman’s jacket and stuffed it back into its holder. She was better off now, whether she knew it or not.