A Story A Day. Story 326 of 365: Couple.

Rune and Najwa had been married for more than ten years. They were childless, for their own choice, and lived in a nice calm residential area. Najwa was a librarian, having been feed with love for books by her mother, a war exile. Rune owned a small shoe shop, the only one in town. It was a quiet life, one that suited them. Everyone in the neighborhood loved Najwa's arab sweet treats, and all of them waved at Rune when they saw him going for his morning walk. They were the perfect neighbors, the perfect couple.

Yet, no one knew all the truth. Najwa and Rune were indeed the perfect couple, but for reasons no one would have guessed, for reasons that were only discussed behind closed doors. Sometimes, they laughed while they wondered what would they neighbors think if they knew the truth, they could almost see their faces, hear their voices. They were cautious, and no one ever suspected anything, however. They would go on with their daily lives until dinner time, when they discussed other matters. 

Najwa arrived always earlier and started preparing dinner. Her husband and her had a pact to alternate her native cuisine with what Rune called "normal food". Najwa would out on an apron and tie her cutly dark hair on a tight bun atop her head, she then started chopping the ingredients for that night's dinner. Rune would arrive when everything was already getting cooked, he would kiss her, and reach for some beer in the fridge. They would chat about their day over the stove. While the food finished cooking, Rune would set up the table, two tall candles at each side, always the same. When the meal was ready they would sit on the table, and have the same conversation over and over again, murder. 

As strange as it might sound, the topic never got old. When they were dating, and as newly-weds, they had shared that common passion. Both had a need to kill, and they simply combined it, becoming more efficient, but also in a way more reckless. They almost got caught once, so they decided to stop it. They liked to remember the old good days, however, and that was why they would talk about it every time. 

-That was a good one.- Najwa remembered.- I also enjoyed a lot what happened afterwards. 

-Well, we can always repeat the afterwards...

-We should repeat that.- she saw that Rune was already standing up.- I mean the murder! 

-We have talked about that thousands of times, honey. We can't go back to that. 

-But I'm bored! 

-It's too dangerous!- her husband insisted. 

-You never let me do anything fun. But that's over, I'm not going to take orders from you anymore. 

Najwa's facial expression set off all the alarms in Rune's brain. 

-What have you done?- he could feel his heart beating faster. 

-Added some little poison on your food. Don't worry, I know my trade, it's going to be fast and look like a heart attack. You're going to make a beautiful corpse, all tall and blonde. 

Rune felt the pain on his chest, and on his arm, and felt life slipping away. The last thing he heard was his wife telling him: 

-Don't worry, I'll call the ambulance and play the inconsolable widow. They will never catch me.