Marla

Wake up. Wake up.

"Wake up!" an officer hit the bars with his baton and awoke the only man in his custody, Edward. "Rise and shine my man. Your lawyer is here to see you" Edward got up and was escorted to the interrogation room. "Wait here, the lawyer will be with you shortly" the officer left the room.

Edward was sitting alone in a very grey and quiet room. The only sound he heard was the moving handle of a clock hanging on a wall opposite to him. It showed five a clock.

"Hello. My name is Durden and I am your lawyer. Nice to meet you" a young woman in a black business suit entered the room and set on the only empty chair on the other side of the table. She took out a blue folder from her brief case, opened it and looked over the pages. Edward couldn't see what she was reading.

"I'm Edward. Are you going to get me out of here?" he tapped his lag nervously "We need to go over your statement Edward. Do you know why you're here?" she said with a dull voice "Murder. They say I killed someon. I didn’t do it, I swear" Durden removed a page from the folder and put it upside down on the table "The police has evidence."

"I don’t know what they have but I swear I didn’t do it" Durden finally looked at Edward. Her face was like a statue, revealing nothing. He couldn’t tell if she believed him or not, or if she even cared "Tell me about the victem. who was she, how you met."

"We met at ClubF. She was a singer there. I liked her voice and one night I decided to make a move. She would always sit at the bar after her performance. We talked, I bought her drinks and at the end of the night we went to my place." the smoke from Durden cigarette reached Edwards face and he rubbed his eyes. "and you were together ever since."

"Yes. We spend every night together. I loved her, I would have never hurt her" Edward was starting to plead with his lawyer, wanting someone to believe him and help him get out of this mess "and yet her body is lying in the morgue. She was stabbed 11 times. It was an over kill. Murder of passion. Your finger prints on the body, on the knife. You were found covered in her blood. I must say, it doesn't look good for you." Durden removed a page from her folder.

"Of course you will have my prints. She was killed in my apartment. Look, that night she was acting weird, okay? She told me that she has been getting weird letters and phone calls late at night. Someone was stalking her so I took her to my place. When we fell asleep everything was fine, she was fine. Then I woke up and there was blood. God… there was blood everywhere and she was lying on the bed. I wasn’t thinking. I removed the knife, I tried CPR but she was already dead. I called the police right away. Someone else killed her!"

"Someone else… you mean the stalker you just mentioned?" Durden took out a pen and made a note in her folder "Yes. Talk to her friends. Check the phone records… do something!" Edward felt sick and claustrophobic. He wanted to get up and go home "Shhh, it's ok. Here, drink this, relax" Durden gave Edward a glass of water. He drank and put the cold glass to his forehead.

"What's her name?" Durden shuffled pages around in his folder "You know her name" Edward looked at his lawyer, confused by his apperance. Durdan was wearing a white T-shirt and a blazer with jeans "What's her name?" Durden insisted, putting his sun glasses on.

"Her name… it's…" Edward was lost for words. He didn't know what to say "You don't know? You said you were together and you don't know her name? How long have you been together? Three days, a week, a month?" Edward was quiet. He was trying to recall but he couldn’t. In his mind all he saw is her singing. Singing in a black sequin dress that sparkled when she moved. He could see her bare back as she lay on her stomach and he could see the blood on his hands, but not her. Never her.

"I… I don't remember" Edward finally admitted.

"Don't remember or don't know?" Edward was quiet, still trying to understand what was happening. "Wait. Who are you? Where's my lawyer?" Durden started laughing hysterically "I'm your lawyer silly. Now... What time is it?" Durden looked at his wrist watch "5:30" Edward read from the clock behind him "I need to make a phone call" Durden got up and left the room.

Edward was alone and confused. He had no idea where he was and he didn't understand what happened to his lawyer. Her name, her name… what was her name… he kept repeating but he just couldn't remember. The only names running in his mind were his and Durden.

Edward looked at the clock, 6:35. It's been too long Edward thought. He looked at his wrist watch but it wasn't working. He got up and started moving around the room, panicking. He looked at the blue folder. It was just lying there, closed and calling. Edward opened it and read the one page that was inside.

The handle of the clock stopped moving, it was quiet. Edward, shivering with fear, looked ahead and read:

Upon looking at the folder Edward sees the transcript of his conversation with Durden. He looks forward, his vision blurs. The room fades to black. A muffled voice calling
Wake up. Wake up.