Silent Treatment

by Tonya "Katt" Dunsmore

Mary rolled over and opened her eyes. He was waiting for her, as usual. When he’d first appeared, she’d been frightened, but since he didn’t do anything but follow her around and stare at her, she tried to ignore him, figuring that sooner or later he would go away. He didn’t. He was there every morning, waiting for her to open her eyes and begin her day. She tried to talk to him from time to time, but he simply stared at her, refusing to answer anything she said. She even tried to pretend that he wasn’t there, but it was no good. She felt the weight of his stare whether she ignored or acknowledged his presence. Sometimes it seemed like he’d been there forever.

She sighed and got out of bed. He silently watched her dress, and then followed at her heels as she left the room; first to the bathroom, then to the kitchen. He stood nearby while Mary tried to eat, watching every bite of food as it went into her mouth. Eventually, she lost her appetite to his scrutiny and dumped her half-eaten meal into the trash.

When Mary went to her job, he went with her. She tried to ignore him as she moved through her workday, but he was always nearby, watching her every move, seeming to listen to every word of her every conversation. Those conversations were few. She had stopped talking to people unless it was absolutely necessary, because he wouldn’t allow her to speak to anyone privately. He was always there, Mary’s constant companion, whether she wanted him there or not.

After work, he followed her back to her room and watched as she changed out of her work uniform, then followed her to dinner. Again, she was unable to eat after a few minutes and most of her meal went untouched. He didn’t say a word and his expression never changed, but Mary thought he seemed to find amusement in her discomfort. She went to watch television, hoping to lose herself in mindless entertainment, but his silent presence wouldn’t allow her to pay attention to the show on the screen.

At bedtime, he watched her undress and climb into bed. Mary closed her eyes and rolled away from him, but could feel his eyes on her. She finally gave up on sleep and sat up and turned on the small bedside lamp. He sat quietly at the foot of her bed, simply watching her. She tried to read, but the words wouldn’t register. She wished she could go take a walk, but knew that he would be at her heels every step of the way. She thought about trying to write a letter to someone, but there again, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on writing because he would be right there, silently watching her and reading every word over her shoulder.

Finally, she asked him to go away and leave her alone. He didn’t nod or shake his head. It was if Mary hadn’t said a word to him at all. He simply looked at her as if he were waiting for something. His patience was infinite, hers was not.

“What do you want?” she asked him at the end of yet another long day of his constant, silent companionship.

As usual, he gave her no reply other than his stare.

“How long are you going to keep this up? Do you want to follow me around for the rest of my life?”

Again, he gave Mary no answer.

“Damn you, answer me,” she demanded.

Nothing.

“I’ve had enough of you. Enough of you following me around, staring at me all day every day, enough of you watching every thing I do, every step I take. Leave me alone!!” Mary screamed and threw the book she still held in her hands at him. It flew past him and hit the wall with a thump, breaking the spine and spilling its pages all over the floor.

The bed creaked as her roommate Pam turned over and leaned over the edge of the upper bunk to glare at her. “I done had enough of you and your talking to ghosts, you crazy old bitch. They ain’t nobody in this cell but you and me ‘cause ain’t nobody want to follow your crazy ass around. Now turn out that light and go to sleep, or at least shut the hell up and let me go to sleep. And you best clean up that mess, or I’ll tell the screws and they’ll throw your ass in the hole.”

It was too late. Noise traveled far on the silent block and several of their neighbors had been awakened by the outburst and now yelled at Mary to shut up and go to sleep. The din from the inmates quickly caught the guards’ attention, and soon enough, the guard on duty, Officer Rick Bastion stood at the bars.

“Is there a problem again, ladies?” Bastion asked as he shined a flashlight into the cell.

Pam jumped down from her bunk and walked to the cell door. “Yessir, they sure is. Mary’s screamin’ and hollerin’ at her husband again and keepin’ me awake. I want to see the warden in the mornin’. He gotta let me move outta here. This bitch is drivin’ me crazy, talkin’ to people that ain’t there, screamin’ and hollerin’ and throwin’ stuff. I can’t get no sleep with this mess goin’ on day after day and night after night.”

Bastion fitted his key into the cell door. “All right, Mary, come on with me. You’re going to solitary for a couple of days. Maybe this time you’ll take the hint and learn to be quiet at night.”

Mary grabbed hold of the bed frame, “No, I don’t want to go to the hole. Don’t lock me in there with him. Please, I’ll be quiet, I promise.”

Bastion took her by the arm and pulled her to her feet and led her from the cell, “Sorry, Mary, but you know the rules. You disrupt the block after lights out and you get to spend two days in solitary. Now come on, or it will be three days.”

Mary knew it was useless to argue with the guard, so she gave up and followed him to the solitary cell at the end of the corridor. Her husband Brad followed her every step, just as he had followed her every step, every day, since she had killed him eight months before.