Nice Weather.

I had to smile.

It was one of those days. The weather was nice and the sun was out. It seemed to reflect the way I felt. I felt happy. I felt warm. I looked down on the lake from the small grass bank I was sitting on, the one in Majestic Park, you know the place. I was on the east side, on the edge of the trees.

I had a good view of the clear blue water, the snake pathway around it. People were going about their business, walking their dog, fishing off the muddy edge, or just walking. Minding their own business.

A couple came into view, from the far end of the lake. Holding hands, hands swinging with the motion of walk. Happy faces. Contented people. Another, lone walker came into view from the west. Yes, it would be another good day today.

I had woken up with a smile on my face that morning. I knew it would be a day to remember. I had taken the holiday to relax. It had been an exhausting past few weeks. I had just moved into the area. Started a new job, begun to settle down. I was glad to get away from my previous life. Too many memories, too much lost. I didn’t have much trouble.

I found placement through an old friend from University. We had kept in touch from university. He had moved here straight after graduating and settled down, that was two years ago. I decided to join Francis because I had too many things I wanted to leave behind, he was my only way out of there. I’d not been happy since moving, too much going on, too many distractions. Mud in the cleanliness of life.

Today would be different, I could tell. You might remember them, the university murders, they were called. Three, particularly brutal. They were in the papers. It happened the year I was in university. I didn’t know them personally, but it affected me. Two of them were friends of mine, the other I didn’t know, but I’d seen around. They were all found in roughly the same place over a span of six months. I read it in the newspapers, recognised their faces. I had seen them around campus. Nothing special, even the people I called friends were quite distant. It’s a shame, all this violence. I couldn’t put up with it. Had to move to try and get away from it. Why does it happen?

The wind picked up slightly making a rustling noise through the late summer trees. I shivered slightly, not from the wind, but from the memories. My eyes started to moisten, my lips tightened. Shame. Such a shame. A tear rolled down my cheek. Such a shame it happens. Why do people do it? I couldn’t answer that. I was happy.

The sun was warm on my face. Such nice weather.

As I rose, the knife clutched in my left hand glinted in the sunshine. With it clutched close to my leg, I walked down the grassy bank in the direction of the couple. Such a nice day.