Four Minute Warning

There was no ambiguity in the message. Her cell phone screen blinked innocuously, unaffected by the gravity of the message. 1

Sender : Anonymous 2

Received : 8 November 2008, 00:56 a.m. 3

You are going to die at 1:00 a.m 4

It must be a joke. Micky must be up to his usual tricks. That boy was quite a handful. She walked over to the mirror, her hands automatically removing her earrings. They had grown accustomed to the routine. Things had been the same for the last five years. Of course, it took much more make-up now to cover the lines on her face. She stared at her reflection. She did seem a lot paler today. Maybe it was the stress. The merger with Gordon & Gordon was a huge deal for her. It would mean that she could finally retire and enjoy the fruits of her decades of hard labour. That is, of course if she survived the night. She smiled, and looked at the message again. A small shudder went down her spine, the smile narrowed just a bit. 5

00:57 a.m. 6

She poured herself a brandy. What if the message were a signal from the other world? A premonitory sms from her dead husband? What a hoot! 7

“The message doesn’t mention a date, anyhow”, she told herself. Her sense of humour hadn't dimmed at all. 8

But her hands shook just the tiniest bit as she sipped her drink. Maybe she should confront Micky. This was a bad joke, if at all. Then she remembered. He had left for Italy that same morning with his friends. Her memory was starting to fail too. She frowned, and dropped into the cozy armchair. This would have been her favourite part of the day, but that message had ruined everything. 9

00:58 a.m. 10

Maybe the message was a death threat. After all, she was a celebrity in her own right. She had stepped on quite a few toes to make it big, and they were powerful toes. Just thinking about it, she realized she didn’t fear death. She’d had a more fulfilling life than most people her age. She had been through poverty, lost her parents at the age of eighteen, survived two marriages and built a successful company from scratch. She’d even been named “Businesswoman of the year” twice in a row. That was more than anyone expected from the introverted, quiet child that she’d been. She had seen it all and more. Maybe it was time to go. Conflicting thoughts whirled around as she battled against her own sanity. Her only solace, the bottle, was half empty. 11

“That’s strange. It was nearly three-fourths empty yesterday.” Could she trust her memory? 12

 13

00:59 a.m. 14

The brandy seemed stronger than usual too. But she wasn’t complaining. Her mind went back to a hazy rerun of her life, and clumsily arrived to the present. What unfinished business had she? Her company was being managed by the sharpest brains in the industry; her absence would certainly be felt, but the firm would manage to go on. The merger would have to be postponed till after the funeral, of course. Her secretaries would miss her, and some of her regular clients. But she'd be forgotten by the end of the year. The industry had far too much happening in its present to worry about the past, however glorious it may've been.  15

She had no family, except for Micky. That nephew of hers was more trouble than anything else, but he was the only family she had now. And it was clearly reflected in her will. Her considerable estate would be Micky’s to squander as he pleased. The very thought was unnerving. She refilled her glass to drown out the irritating thoughts. 16

The clock in the hall was ticking away the seconds. It had never seemed this loud before. She got up slowly, and teetered groggily towards the hall. This would be the ultimate test. She laughed, waiting to see if Ron had succeeded in messaging her from the other side. The second hand went on doing its job, oblivious of the great revelation it was about to make or not make. 17

01:00 a.m. 18

It swept right over twelve. She stood, a little dazed and extremely drunk, but nevertheless alive. The second hand continued ahead with nonchalance. She laughed again, almost disappointed. She could barely see now. That drink had been a tad too much. As she groped her way upstairs towards the bedroom, she saw a blinding white light. A searing pain ripped through her chest. She screamed out before crumpling down in a heap. 19

Miles away in Rome, a young lad looked at his watch and smiled. 20