The House of 6 - 1/2 Gables

Two framed pictures lurk in the shadows. In one, a handsome, formally dressed couple displays self-satisfied smiles. In the other, the woman is flanked by two adolescent boys; all are in tennis togs and brandishing rackets.

The lamplight falls upon an older but still beautiful version of the woman in the pictures. She lies on the bed, head propped up on pillows, eyes closed, a silk nightgown revealed above an elegant duvet pulled up to her abdomen.

Cotton sheers pulled aside an open window flutter in a gentle, oxygen-rich breeze. Most of the light rays piercing the screen’s mesh perish in the blackness of the outdoors, but some highlight a small polished disk with a tiny black hole at its center--a silencer--purposed to silence her.