The night was still like a fizzy drink after it had gone flat, and darker than the blood that can only be seen when a man's bowels are dissected and strewn across his splayed body, for buyers to view from afar.

A message had been sent by horseback to Carril Helling, editor-in-chief of The Hedard Daily Times. Her house was located just outside of Hedard, a white-washed building, surrounded by flowers groomed to perfection by a hired hand. Her job at The Times was secured only by her faithfulness to the paper of 43 years. In normal circumstances, the owner and publisher of the paper, Mr. Thomas Greenland would have told Mrs. Helling he had to let her go, but the old woman had been a good friend to Thomas, and his father before him, as well as the simple fact that Mrs. Helling was going to leave them in a few months due to a cancer of the lungs (Mrs. Helling had begun smoking at the early age of 11, and had always favored a man's cigar.) Thomas Greenland already had a man by the name of Smith lined up to replace her when she went. Stubborn as she was, however, Mrs. Helling had hired a man to be her voice for the paper and to deliver her back the news from the town and her assigned work for that evening, (Greenland would never give her less than what he had acquired, knowing full well that she knew from experience when someone was scamming her.)

Carril Helling was awake that night, when she received the letter, rocking back and forth on the old wooden rocker that had been moved inside so that she wouldn't catch cold. She knew that was a joke, because she was going to die eventually, anyway, and what better way to do it than watching the brilliant twinkle of stars as you rose to the heavens on a blanket of clouds, instead of having to be stuffed in a dark wooden cabin, devoid of fresh air or moonlight. Carril favored the nights, knowing that the morning would bring about a whole new fuss over her state from doctors and friends, alike.

She puffed in long drags on a newly lit cigar (from a box she had to keep under her mattress and only smoke at night, to avoid suspicion from her caregivers) as she slipped a long, chipped nail under the envelope and broke the seal.
The return address read:

Mr. Albert Lockert
Official Coroner
98 Westminster St.
London, England.

Carril Helling dropped her cigar and leaned back in the rocking chair, her face was drained of all its color (which wasn't that much of a stretch from her sickness) and in a split second she began to cough in a violent fit that lasted a full 3 minutes. When she had regained her composure, she continued the letter.

To Be Addressed To the Honorable Mrs. Helling.

Regarding Mr. N. L. Hews

I regret to inform you of the passing of MR. NATHAN LEWIS HEWS. His death was officially pronounced as of 9:00 AM, TUESDAY AUGUST 6^TH. He died of bullet wounds to the chest and right leg, and suffered internal bleeding as a result of prolonged impact to his stomach and head. Mr. Hews will be remembered in a ceremony at ARBOR LAKE on SUNDAY JULY 5^TH, 2:00 PM. You are permitted to bring a guest. The service will be done by Reverend John Mathers, and will be a closed casket ceremony. We hope you can attend and pay your respects to Mr. Hews.

Sincerely,

Albert Lockert

Resounding in her head were the words: bullet wounds and prolonged impact to his stomach and head. Carril Helling dropped the letter, singing it on the fallen cigar. She stood up on rickety ankles and moved over to a box of old newspapers in a corner beside her bed. She pulled them up to her lap as she sat down on the side of the mattress. Her yellow-stained fingers pulled out a couple newspapers, scanning the titles, and then pushing them back in the box until she found the one she was searching for.

It read:

HEWS ARRESTED FOR VIOLENT DEMONSTRATION

Helling shook her head silently then reached for another paper, opening it slowly and reading the lines:

HEWS MARRIES LOCAL GIRL IN SHOTGUN WEDDING.

A bemused smile appeared on the woman’s face as she dropped her eyes lower and read:

Early yesterday morning, Nathan Hews was hitched to local Carril Jehning. The notorious Hews is known for his revolutionary ideas and demonstrations in the west, but would not announce if he was through with these ways upon marrying the young Carril. Will he settle down and start a family? Or will we see more of his new bride in these attention-seeking rallies?

The flames began licking the side of the house as she thought on how she had left him. She had been tired of running from the law, tired of protesting the new government, and tired of not being able to just rest once and a while. She had warned him several times, of her leaving, but his eyes merely flicked up at her before he returned to writing his speech or going over new proposals for his cause, and a kind word being said, as he told her it would all be resolved soon, just as soon as the west learned of their betrayal, learned of how the fight would need to be fought, before the children were betrayed as well. By that time she had taken up the job of a journalist, moving up from her small position as assistant to the editor-in-chief, and keeping a record of her travels with the rough Nathan Hews. After she realized that writing about this man, her husband, was going to get her killed, as neither side wanted to hear the heroic stories of N. L. Hews, she packed up her bags. However, before she could leave, Hews was given the position in Europe and so, not realizing that she was going to leave him just the same, he had told her that this was something he had to do, and that he may not be back for a few years, being that travel and changes were so slow. She had agreed, hoping that he would change for the better once he got out and found out about the situations in different countries. She waited years and years, and heard no word from him, except the occasional letter. Her heart wasn’t wrenched, but as the years went by and she married a man by the name of Helling, and had 5 healthy children, she found herself yearning for the adventure her past life had brought and wondering what her past husband was doing, and if he had gotten himself killed somehow. Needless to say, the letters ceased and Carril continued her writing for The Herard Times, though nothing ever matched the excitement in her heart after writing about one of Nathan Hews’ unmatched anti-political rallies. Oh, of course there were shootings and scandals in the news, but they were always so distant to her, nothing ever striking a chord. He never did come back, or write any more letters. Her then-husband died, and her children moved out. She bought a house on the outskirts of the town, and kept to herself. And when the cancer had hit, she knew she wasn’t ready to leave. She didn’t stop smoking cigars, but she would yell at God in the afternoons, telling him (after extreme coughing fits) that she was not going yet. Not just yet. She wasn’t sure when she’d be truly ready to go; she just knew it wasn’t now.

As the heat warmed her cheeks, she pondered on who had finally got him. If it had been the men from the east, who had been angry with him for not promoting their cause, or, if it had been the men from the west, who had told Hews that they didn’t want him revolutionizing their towns, and aggravating their people. Maybe it had been new people in London, who hadn’t liked his new ideas. It seemed that he didn’t really belong to one side, and was always hopping the fence; one day tearing the back of his pants in the process would be inevitable.

The woman closed the paper and sighed, thinking back on lost memories. She wondered, as the light reflected in her worn glasses, if Nathan Hews knew he wouldn’t make good on the promise that he would come back for her one day. Well, deep in her mind, she believed he knew he wouldn’t. Otherwise she wouldn’t have remarried, had children, and lived her life.

As the flames engulfed the small room and singed the corners of the yellowed newspaper clippings, Mrs. Carril Helling-Hews was finally ready to go.

The Herard Daily Times read the next day:

LOCAL 63-YEAR-OLD WOMAN DIES IN HOUSE FIRE

Police believe the fire that killed Carril Helling was started by lit cigar, tossed away accidentally, leading to the fire that killed the 63-year-old woman. She was, at the time, Editor-In-Chief of The Herard Times. Carril Helling is remembered by her three daughters and two sons, all over the age of 20. She was married to Peter Helling, who died six years past from a sudden heart attack. A funeral service for Carril Hellings will be august 12, 11:00 a.m. at the St. Benedict’s Church on 3^rd St.