Iowa Winds

Positioned diagonally across her queen size bed, recently widowed Ella Krause lay in a drunken dreamlike state, slowly sipping vodka from her late husband's favorite coffee mug.

Sixteen years ago a young man named Kyle Krause was a new mail carrier working his route when lovely Ella Plowman strolled outside to check her mail, lingering by a nearby tree until the mailman finished. Ella noticed the mail carrier's face was obscured by his ball cap, his long fingers swiftly sorting mail, steadily slinging envelopes and parcels into metal boxes in the Iowa summer heat.

Kyle was leaving when pretty, petite Ella passed him wearing a feminine, floral dress and beamed a great smile. Naturally curly blond hair framed her delicate facial features and big blue eyes; her skin was pale white, in sharp contrast to Kyle's bronzed skin, green eyes and chestnut brown hair buzzed short. Kyle grinned back and the two fell easily into conversation. Kyle cagily invited Ella on a casual first date of watching a baseball game in the comfort of their cozy hometown.

A quick courtship, short engagement, and modest wedding ceremony resulted in sixteen years of a resilient marriage until fate mercilessly severed husband and wife. The cruel concept of continuing life without Kyle petrified Ella. Reaching under the bed Ella pulled out her much-loved faded floral hatbox and removed the lid. The contents were all tangible reminders of Kyle's life. Ella dipped her hand into the box and selected a stick of Kyle's musk scented deodorant.

Kyle was killed in late summer and Ella had returned to her job as an accountant in early fall. Ella's home once had served as her sanctuary had evolved into an asylum. Depression smothered Ella, undermining her efforts to shed the sorrow which plagued her relentlessly. Work kept Ella occupied and wearing Kyle's deodorant boosted Ella's confidence enough to survive the day.

Another token of remembrance extracted was Kyle's worn, brown leather wallet. Ella had craved Kyle's touch and his wallet felt supple but firm in her hand. Tipsy from her vodka laced coffee, an uninhibited Ella massaged Kyle's wallet firmly against her clitoris and brought herself to a soft, satisfying climax.

Ella took a bottle of aftershave from the box and moistened her pulse points with its fresh scent, evoking memories recorded in the diary of Ella's heart.

Picking up Kyle's electric tooth brush, Ella had plugged in the tooth brush before and stretched across the quilt to take advantage of the vibrating head. An act of desperation pacified the anguish throbbing within her abandoned spirit. Trinkets of sorts were left littering the silk lined bottom of her box; various ticket stubs, a spent tube of Ben Gay, salvaged finger nail clippings, and a baseball with their wedding date Kyle had written on it.

Ella gripped the baseball and acknowledged its life long history halted the moment two humble police officers appeared, darkening her front door. Standing among her potted plants, wind chimes, and stars and stripes wind sock, strangers notified Ella that her husband was dead.

On his afternoon mail route Kyle had interrupted a robbery and was shot in the face at point blank rage. Kyle died instantly, a stack of mail clutched in his hand. Ella was to endure a lingering death in the face of pitiless grief.

Kyle's memorial candle was placed carefully next his Urn on the bedroom dresser. Ella kept his remains nearby to reduce the raw reality of his absence.

Squeezing lubricant across the frayed bristles of Kyle's toothbrush, Ella cavorted unclothed and stupefied around the bedroom, pausing on an impulse to light her beloved's memorial candle. Instantaneously the flame burned an intense shade of violet, the exclusive hue of soul mates. Unusual winds surged outside the walls of the formerly contented home.

Kneeling at the edge of the bed Ella tenderly inserted the oiled up vibrating toothbrush and rocked back and forth on her heels, savoring the gratifying sensations. Kyle had brushed his teeth hundreds of times with his hand wrapped around the molded plastic handle. Shivering Ella envisioned frame by frame, Kyle spitting a frothy white mixture of saliva and toothpaste into the sink. What was considered a monotonous ritual in life transforms into an extraordinary and provocative event after death. The significant happenings in life are committed to memory, but it's the disregarded details abandoned by the mind that are retained and sheltered by the human heart.

The flickering candle cast Ella's shadow across the wall and in a shockingly bizarre miracle Ella's shadow was visited by a phantom silhouette. The specter on the wall was hauntingly familiar and soon Ella recognized the profile. It was Kyle.

Unseen hands spread Ella's legs apart and tossed the makeshift dildo. A scream escaped Ella's lips and her body was promptly penetrated by an eager erection. The apparitions gracing the wall had merged into a spectacle of combined poses until an orgasmic ambiance ignited Ella's sweaty flesh into flames. Once the inferno dispersed Ella lay quite still in the marital bed, her body unharmed.

Hoisting herself up Ella saw she was alone and anguish wrenched free from her throat as a horrifying howl. Snatching her sentimental baseball Ella hurled it, through a window, shattering the glass and inviting in the blustery cold winds of the night. A current of bitter cold encircled the bedroom, snuffing out Kyle's candle and knocking his Urn over, the powdery contents pouring out on to the dresser and carpet.

Enthrallment placated Ella when a sole heartbeat disrupted the night. Curling smoke of the smoldering memorial candle created masculine contours and mingled with Kyle's swirling ashes until he appeared as a flesh and blood man. Only his eyes were absent, and instead luminous twin orbs. Kyle parted his lips and released a divine stream of merciful light to guide them on their passage to a final existence.