Page 183 More Likely

He pushed her rapidly to the edge so many times But she was a good girl, she told herself, shutting out her grandma’s voice Poison him! Her grandmother urged. Showing her which herbs to gather. His anger filled the room, wrote despair on the walls of her soul. Still she ignored the voice, because she was from the Bible Belt. Bible Belt girls just take their medicine, feeling they deserve it. He took her to the hospital on the third day. Another fall down the stairs, the intern guessed. They got her in a room alone. Tried to get her to speak of his evil. She deserved this. She had earned it. If she had just been good. He is going to kill you the next time, one of the nurses said. Press charges! But if she could just be better, and she knew she could. He took a hammer to her, a knife, a whip, a chain. She clammed up. Read her Bible, knew the answers were in there. Page 183 her grandmother’s writing. There was the recipe. It would kill him with no trace. She slipped it into his tea, shaking so hard she thought he would know. He slipped into a deep sleep and never awoke. The coroner said “heart disease most likely”. Page 183 more likely she thought, safe at last.