The Resurrection of Adam

 "The man she buried is back and knocking."

  The fire crackled, casting dancing shadows across the cabin walls. Lola, lost in the warmth of Ichiro’s embrace, forgot the crisp fall air nipping at the edges of the mountain hideaway. They had been together for five years. Lola had met Ichiro at her job. She worked for his uncle. Ichiro flirted from their first encounter, but he backed off when he found out she was married—at least initially. It wasn't until he learned how abusive her husband, Adam, was to Lola that Ichiro pursued her even more, determined to save, protect, and make her his.

    One night, Adam came home drunk and wouldn’t leave Lola alone. She tried to lock herself in the spare room, but his rage was uncontrollable. He broke down the door and dragged Lola into the living room. She fought him as best she could, but he was bigger and stronger. During the fight, she got to the kitchen. He chased after her, and she grabbed a knife from the butcher block, using all her strength to attack him. She stabbed him in the back. Then she grabbed a pan and hit him in the head. A neighbor reported the fight; police responded. A preliminary investigation followed Adam's status as a police officer. The investigators concluded that his death was self-defense. She buried Adam and moved on. Five years since she had killed her first husband in “self-defense.” Five years she’d carried the secret, the guilt a cold stone in her gut. She and Ichiro married four years ago and celebrated their anniversary this weekend. They returned to the Cabin each year. A passionate moment ended with an embrace on the fireplace rug. Lola had never felt so loved.

A sharp rap on the door broke the intimacy.

Lola’s heart skipped a beat. Who's this far out?

"Who's around at this hour?" Lola asked, reluctant to leave Ichiro’s warm embrace.

“Someone who is a fool for disturbing us. You stay here. I will see who it is,” Ichiro said, his voice thick with irritation that someone would bother them. Ichiro, a striking sculpture of lean muscle and dark hair, rose and pulled on a silk robe.

Ichiro opened the door. Lola gasped. Standing there, bathed in the pale moonlight, was Adam. Older, heavier, face etched with a cruel familiarity, but Adam. The man she buried.

“Lola,” he said, “come here, baby, give your husband a kiss."

Lola recoiled, clutching the blanket to her chest. Horror engulfed her. How? Why? “Adam, you can’t be here. You’re dead. I buried you,” she whispered, her voice audible.

His bloodshot eyes fixed on her. “Lola. I had friends on the force. It wasn’t hard to fake my death; money can work miracles. You think I would let you go? You know you belong with me. No one else could ever love you. You’re too ugly, too damaged. You are my possession. I paid your parents a considerable sum to own you. That’s why only I can handle you.” Adam said as he reached for Lola, grasping her chin.

Ichiro’s eyes narrowed. The surrounding air crackled with restrained fury. “Stop insulting my wife,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “And get your hands off her. She belongs to me. Only I can touch her.”

"So, it's the wife-stealer himself."Shadowing her like a puppy, touching a married woman. "And I'm still alive, so she's still my wife," Adam said.

Ichiro’s rage exploded. “I’m disgusted by you,” he yelled. You were undeserving of Lola. You were monstrous. She’s happy, free, and you dare to come back and ruin her life again? She's mine now.

Adam lunged, grabbing Lola’s arm, his grip bruising. “She’s mine! You don’t understand what she’s like! She needs to be controlled and punished for her disobedience. She is coming with me.”

Lola recoiled, struggling against his grip. The lies, the abuse, the fear - it all came rushing back. This couldn’t be real. Not now. Not with Ichiro.

“Get off me! Let me go, I won’t go with you!” she screamed, crying from the pain in his grip. Adam raised his hand and hit her in the face, knocking her down.

Ichiro reacted, grabbing Adam and throwing a punch that sent the larger man staggering. A fierce fistfight broke out, furniture crashing and curses filling the air. Panic gripped Lola. This had to stop — she wouldn't let it happen again. Preventing Adam from hurting Ichiro was paramount to her. Reaching the kitchen, she grabbed the first thing she saw: a long, serrated bread knife. Returning swiftly, she stabbed Adam in the shoulder. He screamed and dropped to the floor. Seizing his chance, Ichiro delivered a final blow, knocking Adam out.

Lola stood frozen, the knife dropping to the floor as her body shook. “Oh God, Ichiro, what have I done?”

“Don’t worry, my love,” Ichiro said, his voice calm. “The police already believe he’s dead. We don’t need to involve them. That could cause us trouble."

His eyes held a chilling finality. “Throw on some pants and a sweater. I’ll handle this.

Lola, numb and terrified, obeyed. Ichiro dressed, his movements sharp and precise. He dragged Adam’s limp body out the door and into the woods. Lola followed, her stomach twisting. The chilly fall air felt suffocating.

Ichiro found a secluded spot, sheltered by ancient pines. He started digging, the shovel piercing the soft earth. “Three feet deep,” he explained, his voice flat. “It will decompose faster.”

He tied Adam’s hands and feet, gagging him with his scarf. Then he lowered him into the hole. Adam woke from his unconscious state, looked around, and realized what was happening. His eyes, wide with terror, pleaded for mercy as he looked at Lola and Ichiro.

Lola stepped back, recoiling. “Ichiro… We… I... You… can’t…” The horror of what they were doing washed over her.

Ichiro stepped closer, cupping her face in his hands. Lola, I'm devoted to you. Don’t you see that? Don't you realize how important you are to me?

“But… but burying him alive… that’s… that’s…,” she whispered, her words trailing off as tears streamed down her face.

Ichiro’s face tightened. He saw the fear in her eyes, the dawning realization of the darkness within him. Lola, stop looking at me that way. I did this for you. I love you. He would have taken you away.

He kissed her, a desperate, pleading kiss. Lola felt her fear melting away, replaced by a dangerous warmth. The overwhelming force of Ichiro’s love and willingness to commit such an act overshadowed its monstrous reality. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to her husband, seeking comfort in his embrace.

Ichiro let his wife go, his gaze fixed on Adam in a masklike glare. “Before I bury you,” he said in a low growl, “Understand this. You will never threaten Lola again. Not in this life or the next. This is my promise to her. Because she is MY WIFE.”

He grabbed the shovel and began shoveling dirt back into the hole, one spadeful at a time, burying the man alive. Only the rhythmic thudding of the shovel broke the prolonged silence. Each clod of dirt landing on Adam weighed on Lola’s soul, leaving a permanent stain on her conscience. Having pressed down the last clod, he dropped the shovel and turned to Lola, his expression softening.

“It’s over,” he said, reaching for her hand.

As they moved through the woods, the crisp fall air felt less suffocating, like a cleansing breath. The golden light filtering through the trees seemed to mock the darkness they had just faced. Walking arm in arm back to the cabin, an uncertainty raced through her mind. A cold stone remained in her gut. She escaped Adam. However, what was the price? The man she loved had shown a capacity for violence she never imagined. Was this love? Perhaps a dangerous, possessive obsession bound her to a depraved man? Unspoken questions and the chilling realization that Adam's death had forever changed and buried their once idyllic and simple lives weighed between them. His touch, instead of comfort, felt like a shackle, binding her to a secret, a lifelong, haunting truth.