The Lamp Post (248 words)

The Lamp Post
By David MacKenzie


“I wasn't always a drugged-out thug, you know.” Carlo whispered to me as he raised his head slighlty. Our eyes locked. “I was a kid once, a good kid, a clown even.”

I studied Carlo's watery red-rimmed eyes. I peered past the green irises and tried to see beyond the tainted soul of the multiple murderer to find the innocent youth he was remembering, but I lost my way among the dead bodies. I closed my own eyes and swallowed hard, determined to get on with my job, but Carlo was still staring at me when I opened them again.

“I remember one winter when it snowed and my best buddy...” a brief smile danced across his face. “He dared me to lick the frozen lamp post and...” Carlo's already soft voice trailed off and he blinked, freeing me from his hypnotic grip.

I quickly moved behind him and busied myself with the routine tasks so I wouldn't think about his words and I wouldn't meet his gaze again. I tightened the bands around Carlo's head and chest then moved to the controls on the wall behind him. I stood ready.

The warden’s perfunctory voice came from the overhead speakers. “Carlo Anthony Fuguerro, do you have any final words?” A heart beat passed, then another, and another, but Carlo was silent. A red light blinked on and I flipped the switch, closed my eyes, and tried to forget the snow, the lamp post, and my childhood buddy.


Story Copyright 2005 W. David MacKenzie
Photo Copyright 12/23/2005 Mason Thompson