Kyle was taking a road trip,
his first in many years.
For work consumed his hours,
and stress brought him to tears.
Driving in his Mustang,
he vowed that he'd outrun
the memories that haunted him,
by following the sun.
He passed through many tiny towns
to find an old motel.
A small cafe attached to it,
run down itself as well.
A creaky rusted sign proclaimed
they had color TVs.
The sets were circa eighties,
the cable channels free.
The cafe sitting next to it
advertised its pie.
"THE TASTIEST FOR MILES"
A homemade treat to buy.
Kyle, his room now rented,
laid on the dusty bed.
And thought about his lovely wife,
And all the things he'd said.
An argument had drove her out,
his words so harsh and mean.
Perhaps her tears had blinded her,
the semi-never seen.
Tortured now by thoughts of her
and how he caused her death,
made his head and heart ache.
It took away his breath.
yet, he had ended up back here,
the place where they first met.
The goal had been to leave it all,
to try best to forget.
She was the cutest waitress
that he had ever seen.
Like someone in the movies,
or an angel in a dream.
Just passing through on business,
for him, love at first sight.
A few months in and he proposed,
one magic starlit night.
But that was all behind him,
he sat down on a stool.
He wasn't very hungry,
but the pie scent made him drool.
He thought that he might try it,
its top a golden brown.
The apples warm inside the crust,
the flakiest around.
Kyle looked around the diner,
no other patrons there.
A nervousness enveloped him,
a feeling of despair.
Like time had stopped that instant,
when he ordered a slice of pie.
The first bite melted in his mouth,
the second made him sigh.
It was the greatest apple pie,
that he would ever try.
Soon his world was spinning,
the diner lights grew dim.
He couldn't understand it,
what was happening to him?
He woke up in total darkness,
bounded by a chain
A corrugated tin roof,
didn't quite catch all the rain.
His clothes were taken from him,
lying naked on the floor.
He felt a rat run cross him,
and soon came many more.
He felt one bite into his foot,
he screamed deep from his belly.
Then realized that someone had,
coated him with jelly.
The rats bit deep,
in agony, he tried to twist away.
He screamed again, but no one came.
Was he to die today?
Then suddenly the startled rats
ran to their hiding place,
and Kyle heard a woman's voice,
he saw her weathered face.
"I've waited for you all this time,
and prayed that you'd appear."
"each day I baked a brand new pie,
now finally you're here."
"My daughter was an innocent,
you took her life away."
"I made it homemade as you'd want,
baked up fresh every day."
"She said once you liked apple pie,
but this one had a twist."
"A few extra ingredients,
so you could not resist."
Then calmly she sat next to him,
and watched his growing fear.
"Why are you doing this?" he said.
"Why have you trapped me here?"
She softly whispered, "I know the truth."
"My daughter didn't die,
like the police had said she did."
"The car crash was a lie."
"She was dead already
when you put her in the car."
"And drove along the interstate,
you didn't drive too far."
"It was a busy roadway,
you waited for a truck."
"Then ran off to the bushes,
and watched the car get struck."
"I know because she told me
in a dream, I had one day."
"Now it's up to you," she said,
"To make sure that he pays."
The shack was built deep in the woods,
where sounds could not be heard.
Kyle screamed and begged for help,
but no one heard a word.
Kyle thought about how he'd beat his wife,
senseless rage he had to vent.
The bruises came as no surprise,
caused by the "accident".
What pain the rats had caused him,
was nothing to compare,
with the knife the woman used on him
with such a skillful flair.
Kyle knew the end was coming,
quite certain he would die.
The last thing that he ever saw,
was his wife's mom eating pie.
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