Falling in Thai by Michael j Bradley - Gadabout Life

I woke that morning with a headache from hell, a thirst and a
full bladder. Fumbling to find my way to the bathroom i slipped
and landed painfully on the tiles. The floor was drenched –
some-thing sticky all over. As i moved to the door my flip-flops
stuck to the floor like plungers. Feeling around to find the light i
am engulfed with a sense of foreboding – a premonition that
something bad had or was about to happen. I turned it on -
brightness blinding my eyes temporarily.
"My God," I see my hands are blood red. Beyond them i see
more blood and Annie lain on the floor. She is motionless. I go
to her and slip again falling; crying out in short felt pain, my
body landing juxtapose to hers. Leaning over carefully i pulled
her shoulder toward me. Her head rocked lifelessly to a stable
point; then, motionless. Her face was still, lifeless. I should call
for help. I go to the phone but something stops me, if only the
language barrier. I don’t know whether to cry or scream.
"She's dead" I say out loud, "Annie's dead" And then i
checked her pulse to make sure she was. That i hadn’t got it
horribly wrong. Part of me expected Lek and Kat to jump out of
the closet, fancy-dressed, laughing, screaming “Happy
Halloween” or some silly thing. But it didn’t happen and what
had happened? I wasn't sure.
I lay with her for what seemed like forever, holding and
stroking her. I picked her up but her heavy head rolled odd and
erratically on a limp neck. I sobbed hopelessly, mumbling
words of contempt for the God who’d let this happen.
In the bathroom i cleaned up, washing away the tears and
brushing my teeth. I got dressed; my blood-stained underpants, i
threw away. Reentering that abhorred dwelling, i went back to
the corpse i’d sobbed over moments before. Stroked and kissed
her forehead, cold now. "See you later, Tiger Lee" I said
through tears as i left the apartment.
I got on Annie’s bike. The key in the lock turned, the engine