Redemption of Drowning

Chapter 5: Redemption of Drowning

Written By: Mariann Carroll, Clyde E Dawkins, and Celia Underland

The day before Danny’s accident he bumped into Judy. Everyone in town knew she was a hot mess. Danny was going to plan a romantic getaway with Teresa. Teresa was the only woman he would go fishing with. She taught him a lot of things about fishing.

"Danny? Danny Swift?"

Danny heard a woman's voice calling out to him as he was shopping for plans for his upcoming sea fishing trip. Even though he saw women at the shop on a near-frequent basis, Danny had it in his mind that women had no business in anything involving fishing, or any sports, unless they were cheerleaders. So after hearing the woman's voice, Danny turned around to see who it was.

"Who are you?"

"Judy. Judy Williams."

"Williams?" Danny asked in a disgusted tone. "Oh God, not Paul Williams!"

"Paul is my husband," said Judy. "But you know that. After all, he used to mess around with your wife. I think he still is." Danny walked out of the shop following Judy's statement, but Judy frantically followed Danny.

"You know, don't you?" asked Judy. "That's why you walked off like that because you know--or you at least had to have suspected!"

"I am going to kill that bitch!" snarled Danny. "I knew that baby wasn't mine, I just knew it!"

"Wait, she's pregnant?!" asked Judy.

"Yeah," replied Danny, "Knew I was planning this trip, yet she hits me with this. I'll kill her..."

"Hold it right there!" said Judy. "Don't do anything...to her." Danny noticed the way that Judy uttered those two words. His eyebrow raised over Judy's tone and her expression, as it was clear that the wheels were turning in Judy's head. She was planning something, and while Danny wasn't exactly the bulb in the proverbial box, even he knew that what Judy was planning was unlawful, and yes, evil.

"What's on your mind?" asked Danny.

"I was thinking," Judy said in a somewhat seductive manner, "if you want to punish Teresa, I suggest you take your anger out on my no-good husband."

"Oh, I'll definitely kick that fucker's ass!" said Danny.

"That's not enough," Judy said with a very ominous glare on her face. Danny's fury subsided once he saw Judy's expression.

"You don't mean..."

"Paul needs to eternally pay!" snarled Judy. "He lied to me. He cheated on me. I know he did. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I know that he goes to see HER!" With every syllable she uttered, Judy was seething. She ignored all reason when it came to Paul. She had no proof. It was clear to anyone that Paul and Teresa weren't seeing each other. Despite this, Judy had been insanely jealous of Teresa ever since she found out that she and Paul once dated, and that jealousy turned her into a raving madwoman.

"Listen," said Judy. "You're going on your trip, right?

I will convince Paul to out to our island where we gateway together. I will pretend I forgot something very important there. He loves that outdoors-type shit; I'll bet that little whore of his got him into it. I will give you the location of the island. You can take it from there"

Their plan did not go as planned because of the unexpected storm.

******

As days gave way to weeks, Danny, trapped in Paul Williams' body, began to experience life through a new lens. Despite his initial resistance, Danny found himself relinquishing to Paul’s subconscious. His words became less inflammatory, his temper became less volatile and he began to realize what he had lost in Teresa. Paul who he had been so infuriated by. Paul the kind-hearted good-looking one. When he had found out about him, it had cemented his decision to marry Teresa. He had turned on the charm. Determined that he would be the victor. And now, in one of life’s bizarre ironies, he was succumbing to him.

Meanwhile, Paul, in Danny's body, was trapped on the island. The paddles he had found turned out to be inadequate, their flimsy shape barely able to catch a wave, let alone propel him forward. Paul felt a self-righteous fury crash over him. Why him? This was all Danny’s fault. He stalked around the island, his anger tempering any hope of success. He was too overwhelmed with emotion to think clearly. If he had been able to tame his resentment, he would have found the answer staring him in the face.

Back in the city, Teresa grappled with the mysterious disappearance of her abusive husband and the unexpected re-emergence of her ex-boyfriend. She held a deep-seated duty to her vows. Her family took matrimony seriously, and so was she. But she thought in coveted moments of introspection, she didn’t leave him. He had left her. Paul’s reappearance had overwhelmed her. She found herself wondering what life might have been like had she chosen differently. She thought of Danny too but love loss evaded her. She could not reconcile the bruise on her inner thigh with any yearning she should have felt. It had been too many years and he had worn her down too much.

As the three protagonists wrestled with their new lives, Detective Jon and Seth were sifting behind the scenes.

“There is always a reasonable explanation” Seth reassured Jon he got this case cracked.

🙂😉🙂😉🙂😉😘

Stay tuned for Chapter 6, the plots thicken. Thank you Clyde E. Dawkins for sharing your villainess expertise writing. Celia Underland you made this chapter come together.

If you have not read the previous Chapters, here is the link below.Thank you for reading 🥰