Ordinary Love: A Life Hanging by a Thread

Ordinary Love ①: A Life Hanging by a Thread

[Part ①: Love You to Bits]

"Margaret."

My fiancée.

It seemed—

It seemed like her.

It seemed like someone had done something terrible to her!

The severed hand that had crawled out of the hollowed-out Bible had emptied my mind of reason!

A powerful dizziness swept over me, and I could barely stay on my feet. My back hurt so much! The injuries I'd suffered when I fell from the hunting trap into the mud were finally catching up with me—the muscles around the left side of my chest pulled at my entire arm, spasming together and pinning me to the chair.

I felt as though there was nothing I could do. I breathed raggedly, staring at the severed hand, overcome with nausea and terror.

"Who did this?"

"Who hurt you, Margaret?!"

My longing and grief for her briefly overcame the pain.

What I couldn't understand was why this hand still seemed alive—

—it had crawled out of the hollowed-out Bible and fallen onto the table. It even seemed able to take a few steps toward the edge, clutching the tablecloth with its pale, bloodless fingers as it slowly wriggled along.

"Margaret? Margaret? Can you hear me?"

"Margaret? Are you here with me?"

The brilliant midday sunshine was once again swallowed by gloomy rain clouds. Other than the occasional birdcall from deep within the pine forest, I couldn't hear a thing.

The terror had made everything tremble before my eyes, and the little wooden cabin seemed to be melting along with the hot, humid air.

Now, though, I was feeling a little better. The world around me was gradually growing still.

The pain of the angina was slowly fading, too. At last, I regained control of my left hand—

—Sam Walker,