Marco was fond of his grandfather, but something about this old fellow always unnerved him to no
end: An eye with a pale blue color, which looked similar to a vulture's eye. Every
time his grandfather looked at Marco with that eye, he would feel his blood go
cold. Marco was so incredibly disturbed by it, that he gradually decided that he would
kill the old man, and finally get rid of his terrifying vulture's eye forever.
Every night at midnight, Marco would press the doorknob of his grandfather's room, and open the
door very slowly, until there was enough space for him to peek into the room with his head.
He would then walk in so carefully, that he would take an hour to go into his grandfather's
room to see him sleeping on his bed. Marco would then use a flashlight with a light
just intense enough to try to see his grandfather's vulture's eye without waking him up.
However, Marco would always find his grandfather with that eye closed, and wouldn't proceed into
killing him, since he had no issue with the old man himself… only his damn eye. Days later came
the eighth night of Marco doing this, and this time he acted even more carefully when opening
the door… so much so that he couldn't contain his excitement. He let out a slight cackle… and maybe
the old man heard it, since he moved in the bed as if he had woken up… however, Marco didn't give up.
He had peeked inside, and was about to turn on his flashlight when his arm touched the doorknob.
- "Who's there?!" (serious voice)
Marco stayed still without uttering a word. After a while, he then turned on his flashlight again,
and carefully lighted the way. Then a ray of light,
fine like a spider's web, was projected onto his grandfather's perturbing eye.
It was open… wide open, in fact. And then, Marco heard a strange noise…
it was the old man's heart beat, which increased Marco's anxiety. Those palpitations
were increasing their rhythm, and Marco thought his grandfather's heart was going to explode.
Thinking that a neighbor could hear him, Marco went into the room with determination.
The poor old man could only produce one scream… only one. And at last, the palpitations stopped.
Marco's grandfather was dead.
The night went on, and the murderer finished his task in silence: Marco cut his grandfather's head,
then his arms, and finally, his legs. Then he tore out three floorboards from the room's floor,
shoved the mutilated remains in there, and nailed the floorboards back.
He was so cautious that it wasn't even necessary to clean any stains.
When the clock showed it was four in the morning, someone knocked on the front door. Marco calmly
went downstairs, feeling no fear. Three police officers went in, saying that a neighbor had
heard a scream during the night. Marco smiled, and calmly said: "Sorry, that was me! I screamed
after waking up from a nightmare." He also added that his grandfather had gone out on a trip,
and guided the officers through the entire house, inviting them to check every nook and cranny.
They eventually reached the old man's room. With confidence, Marco offered chairs to the officers
for them to rest on. He then placed his chair on the same spot where the body of his victim layed.
The officers, feeling satisfied, sat down and talked about random topics for a while.
But shortly after, Marco started getting nervous…
he wanted the officers to leave. He now had a headache, and started to feel a buzz in his ears.
He tried to follow their conversation to distract himself from that sensation… but the buzz
turned into a painful and strong palpitating noise booming into his ears. The more pain he felt,
the louder he spoke, although that didn't stop the noise from getting stronger.
Marco stood up, and tried to talk about random topics too, in a very loud and gesticulated tone…
but that palpitating noise wasn't going away. The desperation was blinding him,
and he started to shake the chair where he had been sitting, making it hit the floor… but the
palpitating noise was still there. The officers just kept on talking, while they joked and smiled.
Marco thought, "Are they not hearing what I'm hearing?
No… no! They DO hear it! They are onto me… they know everything!!!"He couldn't stand
those hypocritical smiles any longer. He understood he had to yell… or die.
"You miserable rats! Stop playing dumb! I confess! I did it!! Tear
out the floorboards… there it is! The palpitations of his horrible heart!!!"