No Returns

She looked at it and chewed the inside of her mouth. The auction had been running for almost twenty-four hours and with five minutes left there wasn’t a single bid. Of all the items listed, this was the only one unsold.

The countdown clicked to four minutes.

“Come on,” she muttered. “It’s designer, with no reserve, surely I can get something.”

The timer continued to descend.

Sixty seconds.

Still 0 bids

Imagining the worst, she began to think of alternatives.

Charity shop?

There were none open.

Gift it to a stranger?

No chance.

Twenty seconds.

Relist?

Not enough time. She needed it gone. Too many bad memories attached to it.

Ten seconds.

Perhaps literally.

Five, four, three…

The thought bought a smile to her face.

…two, one.

1 bid

“Ha,” she exclaimed and clicked through to confirm the buyer’s details.

Minutes later the item was packaged, labelled, and sitting atop a meticulously wrapped pile of brown paper bundles. The scent of freshly washed clothes coalesced with bleach, giving the room a sterile air.

Closing the VPN, she folded her laptop. It was 10.45am. Six hours until her flight.

——————————————-

“Blimey, someone’s been clearing out their wardrobe,” the postmaster laughed.

She smiled politely beneath her broad brimmed sun hat.

“How do you want to send them?”

“First.”

“Be cheaper if-”

“First,” she said firmly.

He calculated the cost. She laid down the cash.

——————————————-

“Would you like me to take the hat?”

The flight attendant was beaming as she placed the gin and tonic.

The woman had been staring out of the window, deep in thought. Until now, she’d managed to blend in, avoid any kind of interaction, even in the Executive Lounge amongst the lonely businessmen, but the question startled her, causing her to instinctively look up. That gave the attendant just enough time to see the badly concealed bruising around both her eyes.

Turning away, the woman shook her head.

“Of course,” the attendant said, smiling professionally through the embarrassment.

“Well, if you need anything – or anymore – just hit that button. This is first class, after all.”

The woman waited for her to move on and then took a heavy swallow from the glass.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw another figure, reclined, facing her. She didn’t need to glance over to know that the man was looking at her.

She angled the brim of her hat to further conceal her face.

She didn’t need any more unwanted attention. That’s how these things started.

She picked up her phone and checked the news headlines again.

Nothing.

At the far end of the cabin a curtain separated First and Business Class. Glancing through it she could see that passengers were still boarding the plane. She willed them to move faster.

Who else might be boarding?

That though kept her wound tight as parcel string.

She retraced her steps. The clothes. Packed. Mailed. Passport. Money transfers.

DNA. VPN.

The hard drive in her handbag.

A sudden lurch. The plane was disengaging from the terminal.

Not long now.

That life would soon be over.

——————————————-

As the plane made its ascent, she looked down at the countryside. In the distance she could make out a familiar landmark, near to which sat her apartment.

She traced the adjacent motorway and for a moment she imagined she caught sight of the woodland that they had visited the day before.  

Only their third date, but it had been easy to lure him there. Along the road with no cameras. Just a promise of something unusual, easy, something that he could brag about to his mates.   

Something he would only get deep in the woods.

Fresh from the gym where they met, she could feel his eyes on her as she led him on. The tight black leggings. The pigtail hanging playfully out of the back of her cap.

He had complained about the dirt, how it was ruining his fresh white trainers.

Fucking Neanderthal.

He had stopped talking when she pushed him against a tree, had stopped frowning when she leaned in and wrapped her arms around him.

Stopped breathing when she thrust the long needle up into the base of his skull.

“It’s dangerous in the woods,” she whispered now.

Outside, the white cloud base suddenly obscured her view.

——————————————-

The day after, a variety of new owners received their recently won bundles. Inside they found individual items of clothing. Gym equipment.

All as advertised.

Like new.

Worn only once.

Freshly washed.

No returns.