[SS] Cigarette Smoke #FromOnePhotoLiteraryAward

Yesterday, I arrived at the villa near the border. Marie was to live there alone for recuperation, away from her husband. James, her husband, had driven her to the villa, but he left for work without even stepping inside. Even though it was a solitary recuperation, a doctor and a nurse were staying there with her, always by her side. That was why James could fly off to work with peace of mind.

After finishing a light breakfast, Marie moved to the table by the window. In her hand was a cigarette. The nurse called out in a panic.

“Ma'am, you mustn't smoke. It's not good for your health.”
“Haha, I know. Because I can't smoke it, you see.”
“Oh, but what you're holding in your hand is...”
“This? I'm just lighting it. After all, this is his cigarette. When I smell this, I feel like he's nearby, and it calms me down. So, I decided to light one every day until he returns. That much is fine, isn't it?”
“Yes, well, if it's just that much...”

James is a trader who is always flying around the world. This time, he had wanted to stay with Marie because her health was not good, but he trusted the doctor and left.

“I wonder if he'll come home soon. He said about ten days, but...”

Since then, Marie had taken to lighting a cigarette every morning while watching the national flag being raised through the window. The wall visible from the window was the border with the neighboring country. Her beloved James had gone to work on the other side of that wall.

The doctors were consulting about the medication they were prescribing.

“It seems the effect might be a bit slow. Shall we increase the concentration and mix it into her meals?”
“Yes, let's. At this rate, we might not make it in time for her husband's return.”

Marie's health was deteriorating.

On the morning she lit the tenth cigarette, Marie's condition had worsened significantly. Still, she sat by the window, staring at the cigarette smoke while feeling dizzy. When the flame was about to go out, her consciousness faded, and she nearly collapsed. The panicked nurse extinguished the cigarette and caught Marie.

“Ma'am, are you alright? Let's go back to bed.”

At that moment, outside the villa, a helicopter approached with a rattling sound. The villa had a helipad, but there were no plans to use it. The nurses began to feel a bit unsettled. Just then, they heard a loud pounding on the front door, and before they knew it, the lock was broken, and several men stormed in.

“Who are you people? What have you come here for?”

The doctor stood in front of the men. The nurse hid behind him. Marie had just been carried to her bed and was fast asleep.

From behind the men, a familiar figure appeared.

“Doctor, so you were the spy. I trusted you completely. I never imagined I would be deceived so brilliantly.”
“James, I don't know what you're talking about. Aren't you mistaken about something?”

James, holding a list of spies he had obtained in the neighboring country, played a recording of evidence for him to hear.

“Who is the spy snooping around my affairs? If you don't tell me the truth, I'll make sure you can't speak.”
“Ugh, I'll talk, so please spare me. The spy is a man named Curtis who is posing as a doctor. By now, your precious person might already be asleep.”

Having heard the recording, the doctor dropped his facade.

“Damn it, if I've been found out, then so be it. I was only one step away.”

Just as Curtis was frantically trying to pull a gun from his pocket, a gunshot rang out through the room. With a bullet through his forehead, Curtis slowly collapsed to the floor. The nurse was cowering in terror. James ran quickly to his wife's side. The doctor who had come with James grabbed the nurse, demanded to know what she had been administering, and ordered her transport to the hospital.

At Mary's bedside, James held her hand, his eyes welling with tears.

"I'm sorry, Mary. Because I didn't notice, I let you suffer like this."

The doctor then arrived.

"James. We're taking your wife to the hospital. It seems poison was put in her food. We need to flush it out of her system immediately. We're rushing her to the hospital by helicopter."
"What, poison? Understood. I'm counting on you."

Mary, who had managed to survive, recovered in about two weeks. James and Mary returned to their villa alone together.

"Mary, I've decided not to take any more jobs overseas. I want to be by your side forever. Let's take it easy here for a while."
"I'm so happy. Then that means I don't have to light a cigarette anymore, right?"
"Huh? Light a cigarette? What do you mean?"
"Hehe, it's nothing."

Mary gently squeezed James's hand and gazed at the national flag visible through the window.

End

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