We Can Hope

Story Sent in by Darlene:

Steven was wearing a plain black necktie on our date. He wasn't in a collared shirt, so it struck me as an unusual fashion choice. I didn't say a thing about it and the date went on just fine.

After dinner, he took me ice skating. I was better than he was, but he still sort of held his own. We laughed and had a good time.

Once we had been on the ice a little bit, he skated in close to me and whispered, "By the end of the night, one of us will be dead. Thanks to this necktie."

I thought he was just kidding around and I said, "You have to throw it away before it kills us all."

He said, "It'll choke one of us by the end of the night. One of us will die and there's nothing we can do."

He trembled uncontrollably and looked like he was about to cry. Other skaters continued past us. He sank to his knees and I had to do my best to drag him off the ice to a bench nearby. He asked if we could sit in my car and I took him there.

In my car, he hyperventilated a bit, then unexpectedly kissed me, then hyperventilated even more.

"Why don't we throw the tie out?" I finally suggested.

He rubbed his eyes and said, "Do you think it'll work?"

"It's worth a shot."

He removed the tie from around his neck and threw it out the window. He calmed down and then gave me a kiss on the cheek and said goodbye. He hopped out of my car and disappeared into the night.

I took the tie from where it lay upon the ground. On my way home, I dropped it off at a clothing donation drop box.

After all this time, I'm still alive. I didn't hear from Steve anymore, so maybe the tie really did kill him.