Sudoku 4: The
Importance of Being Apathetic
by Michael S.
Collins
“Oh, that
Mimsy girl died earlier”, said Asha's
unnamed superior.
“Why?”
she said.
“Apparently
she tried some Sudoku on the floor next to her
pal, and it’s cursed. Funny, really.”
“Damn”
cried Asha. “Completely forgot about that
Sudoku puzzle. Hey boss, there's a chance I could
be dead tomorrow, any chance of a raise.”
“Nope.”
“Damn you.”
And she ran
home.
Yoshi was
waiting.
“It's OK,
mum” he said. “I finished the Sudoku
earlier.”
She breathed a
sigh of relief. The boy sat scribbling into a
notebook, and drinking from a cup of coffee.
Everything seemed calm and happy, for a minute at
least. Then, Asha took a look at that newspaper.
She couldn't help herself. The caption had
changed, the solution inked in brilliantly. The
caption: “A shame only one of you could do
it.” Asha's hands held the paper. She heard
a faint sound behind her.
“Is
dinner ready?” Yoshi asked.
She looked at
her watch. It was 6.30! Exactly a week ago, she
bought the newspaper! She'd forgotten all about
it.
Asha turned to
face the television. Yoshi sat in his chair,
watching.
The television
was static – it always had been static, they
hadn't paid the bills, but this time it was even
more particularly static. The image that filled
the screen remained static.
She turned to
the newspaper. It had fallen to the floor, so she
crawled over to it, in a trance almost. The girl
in the cartoon strip, smiled back at her. The
caption read: “Goodbye, ya daftie.” And
then, the girl started to move, in her own
cartoon frame. Her entire head, then her
shoulders, then the rest of her. She crawled over
the floor, the cartoon girl; the television set
flickered statically in the background. Asha
dropped back in terror, as the girl with the dark
black hair, wet like paint, and her white flowing
dress, slopped against the floor. Oily strands of
hair pulled along the floor.
“I don't
believe it” said Asha.
The telephone
rang, but no one listens to it. The girl twitched,
and grabbed at Asha's foot. Asha screamed, but no
one paid much attention. She slowly lifted
herself up to full height, by holding on to Asha's
arms and forcing herself upwards. She was a
fairly nice looking girl, but the stuff of Asha's
nightmares.
The girl's
gaze met Asha. Asha screamed and dropped dead.
The boy continued to watch, not caring much. He
was an apathetic teen, after all.
“Oh, hey
Sudoku” he said.
She turned to
him and smiled.
“Hey,
Yoshi” she said. Her black hair fell in
front of her eyes. She grinned.
“You
solved my puzzle; no one's ever done that before.”
“Well it
was easy, really, if you think about it.”
“No one
ever thinks. You know the amount of people I've
had to kill in this city. Bloody Glaswegians.”
“You don't
have to kill me” said Yoshi.
“I wouldn't
do that” said Sudoku, “has anyone ever
told you, you look quite hot?”
“Sudoku,
do you have a boyfriend?” he asked.
“No.”
she said. “Why, you asking?”
“I'm
asking.”
“I'd like
that.” And she fell into his arms.
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