The Lost Hearts of Brighter Hopes [FINAL VERSION]

Kimberly Waithe, was standing at the bus stop waiting on her transportation to school. It was still early out and drew could still be seen on a plant by a nearby garden. She rechecked her bag to make sure she had all the essentials for her day and when she was satisfied, she began to over hear a conversation between two women at the bus stop.

“Yes girl! Heartman strikes again!”

“when?!”

“You ain got a Nation?! It all over de place chile! Dis body was found in Saint Andrew in a pig farm! Pigs chew up de body clean, but left de head! Unfortunately nuh body ain had no dental work fuh de man dat dem fin’”

Kimberly couldn’t help but listen in, but who were they talking about? She decided to nosey in a bit more…

“umm excuse me – Miss?..”

“yes dear?”

“I couldn’t help but hear you talking – would you be so kind as to tell me who is this “Heartman?”

“Oh! I would love to dear! But nobody knows who this man is, where he live or why de hell he doing wuh he doing?! All I gine tell you, is to keep yuh self ta yaself.”

Kimberly was in shock of what she was hearing. When she arrived at school, the same thing occurred, everyone was talking about the heart man’s latest killings. By lunch time everyone was standing or sitting around a tree with benches, and the rumor of the heartman had escalated. One boy in particular named Henderson, was in the center of the conversation, he was more pumped up than the rest of the students.

“yes man! I know what I see last week! Mr. Niles man!”

“You sure bout dis?” chimed another boy.

“I know what I see Kristopher! Mr Niles walk home that little boy from first form! And you know what happen?!”

Everyone shrugged.

“EXACTLY!” Henderson hollered.

“Dah lil boy gone missing! Nobody know where he is, de main see he ain days! He ain come school or nain so. An’ every time I try to ask Mr. Niles ‘bout it, he does get almost pale den! He is de heartman I telling you!”
“That is not so Henderson” Everyone turned around to see little framed Kimberly in the back of the small gathering.

“Who talking to you?!”

“I am! And you should not be going around spreading rumors about something you know nothing about!”

“shut up Kimberly! Ya poor grate shyte”

The children giggled, but Kimberly pressed on.

“I will not! Mr Niles is a nice man! And highly intelligent and a gentleman! He would never do what you said he did! But you ain know nuttin!”

Henderson stepped forward and walked up to Kimberly in that instant.

“ok then, let’s talk about something I DO know. What about what you told me about your daddy huh ? kim?”

“Don’t do it Henderson!”

“why not?, I tink everyone should about how he used to beat you bout and slam you head pon walls and frying pans – “

“shut up!”

“why?! Because you can’t cook!”

He laughed so hard he snorted. Kimberly was filled with rage and all she could do was leave an imprint on the side of his face with her palm. She turned away quickly and ran inside the class room with eyes burning. Mr Niles, who was sitting down behind his desk looked up the same time,

“Hey Kim, what happen? You ok?”

“Not really, would you mind if I stood inside today? Don’t really feel much like outside”

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“No sir, I would rather read if that’s ok with you.”

He nodded and continued with what he was doing. Kimberly sank into her seat at the back of the class, trying to contain herself. She took her biology book and started to make some notes, some footsteps came up behind her and an Egyptian book on rituals was placed on her desk. She looked up to see Mr Niles smiling down on her.
“If its recreational reading you want, this is one of my favorites.”

And he went back to his desk. Kimberly then began to watch his antics as he sat there in his chair, how he moved, very poised and very intense. She got so caught up in watching him that time just slipped away and soon lunch was over.

The children came streaming in the room, filling up the seats and they started to get ready for Mr. Niles’ class. Kimberly liked the class, not only because she was smitten with her teacher, but it was because she loved Maths. Logic was her thing and almost anything in the class you threw at her, she got right.

"Can anyone tell me the answer to this question?"

There was no answer from the students.

"At least the first step??..."

As he tries to teach, two young men in the class are handing out papers and passing them around. Mr. Niles starts to get annoyed with the class and just before he was about to speak a sixteen year old girl, named Kimberly started to raise her hand.

"Scuse me Sir, the answer is 6798...."

There was silence for a moment as Kimberly slowly dropped her hand. Soon after Mr. Niles smiled softly and began to nod his head in approval.

"Yes.. yes that's the answer. You did a very good job Kim"

"Thank you sir!!" She almost screamed out her gladness. The boys who were passing out the papers were being even more disruptive now giggling and and pointing at Mr. Niles and making a kissing noises at Kimberly with their mouths.

Mr. Niles starts to get a little annoyed and walks around the room and snatches the piece of paper just as it was about to be passed to another person.

“And what is this?” he asks.

“Man no sir!” pleaded Henderson, who was one of the top boys in the class.

As Mr. Niles opened the note, he slowly realizes what was hideously drawn on the piece of paper. An outline of a man holding what seemed to a heart and a little boy on the ground dead. Next to man, was an arrow with the name, “Mr. Niles” at the side.

“Who drew this?!” Mr. Niles furiously turned to face the room of now shamed faced school children. No one made a peep.

“I ask you who draw dis?!”

Still, there was silence. Mr. Niles realized, that no one was going to fess up, so he did the next best thing.

“Come here boy! You gine get made an example of!” He stepped forward in one step and grabbed Henderson Yarde from the back row. Mr. Niles dragged the young man who was a little over 6ft 2 to the front of the class on his toes.

“Now, if it’s not too much trouble, would you please entertain us, by telling the class, what you were doing passing this note around?”

Henderson's shoulders began to shake from fright, suddenly, a stutter appeared –

“I-I- c-c-can-“

“Y-y-you c-c-cant what?!” Mr. Niles taunted and turned to stare Henderson head on in his face.

“Wait sir! Wait! I gine tell you! I gine tell you now!” Some of the other children begged him not to say, others laughed in delight of the new found entertainment. Mr. Niles slammed his heavy hand the table and it echoed the whole room. Immediately, there was silence. He then pointed his finger at Henderson, so he could finish his story.

“Ok, sir, now don’t get ma-“

“Too late boy! And my patience running out!”

“Well, sir – y-yuh see right sir, ammm you rememba dere was talk going round bout lil children getting killed by dis man right?”
Henderson again begins to cautiously step away.

“Yes, I heard about it! It was on the calling programmes up to yesterday.”

“Well sir, y-yuh see right sir- you kinda… look… like… h-“

“Wuh is dah you say boy?!”

The bell rung just then and the boy picked up heels to the door, where he paused again and pointed his finger at Mr. Niles,

“HEARTMAN! HEARTMAN!HEARTMAN!! HEARTMAN!!!”

All the school children joined with Henderson and ran outside frantically seeing that Mr. Niles was making moves in their direction. However, Mr. Niles stopped frozen and just stood there, with hurt on his face and sat down quietly in his chair and began to pack up his things. A few moments after, there was a knock on the side door and a little girl about sixteen years old came in the room.

“Sir?.. Sir?!”

“Not now! I am not in the mood for your foolishment!” He then looked up to let the person have more of his fury, but then he saw who it was. Kim.

“Oh – hello dear- sorry about snapping at you, it’s been –“

“No apologies needed sir, I understand completely. Those boys are just immature.”

There was a moment of awkward silence, and Mr. Niles gently cleared his throat to urge her to explain what she wanted.

“Oh – amm sir, my dad just call me. He say he cann’ come for me and wants to know if you can walk me home this evening. Since this whole mess wid de serial killer going down he don’ want me to walk around by myself wid weirdoes about de place.”

Mr. Niles stood frozen looking at her for a long time. Kim starts to feel a little uncomfortable and tries to hurry on the conversation.

“Amm – you know what- I gine tell he sen me a taxi, don bother”

“No no no! Wait! I can do it!” he jumps up knocking some books out of his bag on to the floor and he quickly picks them up, almost trying to hide them from her. Kim rushed to his side to help him with his things and finds a very disturbing title written on one of the covers, she picks it up and reads it aloud,

“The Ancient World Occult Philosophy?”

Mr. Niles looks up paled face eyes swollen from shock and embarrassment.

“Umm- yea-.. I am doing a paper at UWI on different types of religions”

“Oh really?! That’s cool! That’s what I’m into – not the occult! The religious aspect. I’m now reading on the religions of ancient Egypt!”

She sounded excited for moment – almost too excited. Mr. Niles ushered her to the door and locked it behind them. As they began to walk out of the school yard, they began talking about different types of cultures from around the world, both ancient and modern. While doing so there was an old town hall which they passed, with an elderly choir singing a folk song called, “Yellow Bird”. Kim stopped in mid step and began singing the tune loudly. Mr. Niles was quite astonished to hear her voice, not too many youngsters knew that song, and knew it well at that! He watched her for a long time, her hips swaying under her skirt as she pretended to dance a waltz. Mr. Niles could not help himself and began to dance with her. After about a minute, Kim caught herself and what they were doing she broke the embrace and walked away at top speed! Mr. Niles had to half run to catch up to her.

“Hey Hey Hey… what’s the matter? You were doing very well.”

Kim continued walking fast with her eyes planted on the floor.

“I’m sorry sir.. I-”

“Please – “ he held her hand –

“Call me Jeffery.” He smiled reasurringly and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Well Si- Mr.- I mean JEFFERY – I am usually a very shy person.” She slowed down a bit, taking her time now.

“Yes I see that, you are a very quite girl with a vivid imagination. You’re friends must envy your smarts”

Kim let out a large sigh and stopped again on the cart road.

“But that’s just it! I don’t have any friends!”

“I’m sure that’s not -”

“Yes it is! I am awkward and lonely! And people laugh at me once they find out what I like to do. Especially the boys. Whenever I tell one that I have a crush on them, they laugh and point and call me nerd girl or poor grate. I am just destined to be alone. Just like in the song yellowbird. ‘Yellow bird, up high in banana tree. Yellow bird, you sit all alone like me.’

Her eyes begin to tear up a bit and she begins to walk away again. Mr. Niles walks up to her and gives her a hug.

“Well I didn’t laugh at you did I.”

Kim shook her head embarrassed. She could smell his cologne in his shirt and what smelt like burnt sugar. She wondered what it could be, then she remembered she watched him eating a sugar cake today at lunch while he read his book. She was becoming very fond of Mr. Niles, he seemed like a very nice person and easy to talk to – and every good dancer. They pulled away for a bit and kept walking in silence for a couple of steps, they walked through different parts of the area, houses seemed to coming one every few meters now, till they were just seeing cane fields. The sunset had almost disappeared now and crickets were slowly coming out to sing.

“Uh, Kim?”

“Yes Mr. – sorry – Jeffery -”

“Where exactly do you live? We have been walking now for miles, it’s almost dark… are you sure that we are on the right road?”

“I think so, I don’t walk on this road a lot though, my dad usually comes for me anyways.”

“So you dad comes for you, and you don’t know how to get home? – Look, Kimberly -”

Suddenly, Kim looks around frantically,

“Wait! You hear that?!”

“No. What?”

“Jeffery! De heart man!”

“Oh come now, you don’t mean to tell me that you believe in that foolishment too! There is no heart man! I should know.”

Before he could finish, Kim grabbed Mr. Niles’ hand and began to run with him down the now darken road.

“Quick! Follow me please! I know a place where we would be safe!”

The two of then ran quickly down the cart road to an old shack, with the windows boarded up. There seemed to be an amber light coming from under the door.

“What’s that light there?” Mr. Niles asked. Kim paused at the door, and looked over her shoulder and beckoned him to follow her.

“Come.”

“NO! That’s breaking an entering!”

“Well I’m going! And if you were a gentleman, you would help me. Suppose de heart man in dey?!”

“So why de ass you gine in fuh?!”

“I thought you said there was no Heartman Jeffery”

“Well there isn’t! Well what I mean is-”

Before he could finish the argument Kim was already inside. Jeffery had to follow.

When he entered, there were candles in beakers, roses and lilies all over the room. A simple bed with white sheets and a pillow. There were little jars on a shelf with some sort of organs in them. He left the door and continued to walk around in the one room shack. He then heard a click of the door and turned around swiftly to see Kim with a wirily smile on her face.

“Kim?-”

“Before you start, let me talk first. It’s very important what I have to tell you. Now firstly, I live here, in this shack. Not with anyone just me. I don’t have any parents or relatives to keep me. I go to school up the road and then I come here, my haven ok? The things in those jars, are like my collections of things I have dissected.”

Mr. Niles looked on very confused and bewildered.

“What you mean dissected?”

“Well, I tend to play doctor on some domestic animals around the place. You know cut them open and try to find out, what – makes – them – tick…”

Kim then grabbed a pair of rubber gloves from the side of the table and gently put them on, and snapped the end on to her wrist. Mr. Niles now, very shaken is wondering what was happening to him with the school girl half his age.

“Look Kim – I don’t understand this at all – and quite frankly, I’m a lil concerned with how you carrying on. Please open the door so I can-”

“Leave?!”

She screamed the word loudly.

“No No No.. You can’t be like the rest Jeffery! Please don’t be like the rest.”

“What are you going on about now?”

“The rest of men in my life – I want you to stay here with me! We could talk for hours about any and everything, you don’t treat me like a freak. And if you come, I – I won’t be alone anymore…”

“I’ve had enough of this shyte girl! Open the blasted door!! You need some help Kim. Some serious help!”

“But – but I love you! I love you Jeffery!!”

“Mr. Niles to you.”

Kim opened her eyes wide! As if being filled with a terrifying rage. She grabbed a can of aerosol that was close to the gloves on the table and began spraying wildly in his direction. Mr. Niles immediately drops to the floor, squinting and trying focus properly.

“What you do to me?!”

“Making sure you stay Jeffery. You can stay here with me, forever. Instead of me watching from a distance.”

“Huh? What?!”

Mr. Niles head was positively out of it. His head was spinning so fast, even though he was sitting still.

You have no idea how much I love you do you?. I used to watch you every day at class how you used to teach. The way you ate, who you talked to. Then I followed you to UWI one day and snuck in a lecture you had about the Occult and I got hooked! You are so intelligent and gentleman like.”

Tears start to stream down her face as she goes for a craving knife on the shelf.

“Then the news of the stupid heart man came up and everyone saying it was you! I could not take it anymore I had to do something!”

Her gaze leaves Mr. Niles’ face and follows to the jars on the shelves.

“Oh good God, Kim – you didn’t!”

“I didn’t have a choice! I saw how they treated you day in and day out! They had no right! They teased me too, so I knew what it felt like!”

“But you don’t have to kill me too!”

“Do you love me?”

“What?!”

“Wrong answer! I’m sorry Jeffery, I really am… you seemed to be a nice guy, but I guess I was wrong. You were just like the rest. Just like my father, just like Henderson. No one wants to love me.”

Mr. Niles tried to stand up but whatever she gave him had him good. He could neither stand or crawl and now he was having difficulty in talking. His speech began to slur.
“No no I’m not! You can be a sweet girl – “

Kimberly bent down over Mr. Niles and covered his mouth with her hand.

“shhhh, im talking. And of course you are! My father used to beat on me over and over, till my eyes were swollen shut! And for no reason at all. Henderson – “

She sighed,

“Henderson, Henderson, Henderson – one of the cutest boys in the school. Popular! Came to me for help on an assignment. He played me, cuz that’s all he wanted, and when I found out it was too late! He told everybody about what I told him about my father. Smug little fucker.”

Mr. Niles began to speak again,

“I’m sor-“

“and you!, “ Kimberly screamed

“You were the worst! You led me on! I pined for you all day in class! Couldn’t you tell? Pushed up in class to get all the work right.”

Mr. Niles begins to whimper as his body goes limp and weary. Kimberly looks down on him as if her were a scared puppy.

“Aww don’t worry MR. NILES, that spray I gave you is filled with ether. Someething else I learnt from reading shit! It will eventually paralyze you. Don’t worry MR. NILES you have nothing to worry about, not where you are going”

She bends over him one last time and gave him gentle kiss. She could see him half awake, half asleep on the floor – it was time. She took a glass jar from the shelf, and placed it next to Mr. Niles. She placed her small fingers around the knife and began to cut into Mr. Niles, like a Christmas ham, while humming the tune to Yellow Bird. Mr. Niles screamed softly in pain for a moment, then, all was silent. Kim took his heart and etched Kim loves Jeffery on the front and placed it in the jar on the table. She dragged the body outside and dug a grave. On top she placed all the flowers on top of it. When she was done she grabbed a very girly looking book from under the bed and turned to the last page she had written on, with the face of Henderson on it. She circled it and smiled wittily. She picked up her cell phone and called Henderson’s number. The phone rang a bit, until she heard his voice.

“Hello?”

“Hi Henderson?”

“Yes?”

“This is Kim, from school?”

“Oh.. and what do you want now??”

“Umm, messy but fine. Anyways...Umm would you mind walking me home tomorrow evening? I don't know anyone else who would in class and my dad won’t be able to pick me up, he will be busy at work all evening and he doesn’t want a helpless girl like me on the road by herself…”

THE END