Easter Eggs

Easter Sunday.’

Kathy flung her arms round his neck and hugged him.

‘I won’t, thank you, darling. It looks gorgeous. I wonder what’s inside?’

‘I’ve no idea,’ he said. ‘She said it would be something you liked.’

Kathy looked puzzled. ‘How would she know what I like?’

‘I haven’t the faintest idea,’ he said, as he took her in his arms.

Inside a fortnight, Pete’s life was in ruins. His wife had thrown him out, his girlfriend was refusing to speak to him, and even his mother didn’t want to know.

And it was all thanks to the special Easter eggs.

He went back to the house to complain, but there was nobody home.

He tried again a few days later, and this time his knock was answered by a middleaged woman.

‘I bought some special Easter eggs here for my wife, mother and girlfriend’ he said. ‘I want to complain.’

‘I’m sorry, I’ve been away and I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.’

Pete sighed.

‘There was a sign in the window. An old lady sold them to me.’

He tried to step inside, but she blocked his way.

‘There’s no old lady here,’ she said. ‘Are you sure you’ve got the right house?’

‘Yes,’ he said crossly. ‘I remember the blue front door. The others are all white plastic. ‘Where is she?’ ‘Who?’

‘The old lady, Dora. She’s ruined my life.’

He pushed past the woman, strode into the living room, and came to a sudden stop.

The walls were cream and the floor was covered in brightly coloured rugs. Everything was different. Shocked, he had to lean on a chair to steady himself.

‘I’m sorry, but I need to sit down for a moment.’

The woman fetched him a glass of water.

‘OK, I’m really confused.’ she said. ‘How can Easter eggs ruin your life?’

‘My wife’s had a phone number inside and a £10 note with the message: Call this number and put the money towards getting a divorce. It was my girlfriend’s number.’

‘Oh dear.’

‘They had a good long chat and decided they’d be better off without me. Julia’s thrown me out and Kathy’s refusing to talk to me.’

‘What about your mother? What was in her egg?’

‘Another £10 note and the message, go to Bright Books and buy something to read.’

‘That sounds innocent enough,’ the woman said.

‘That’s what I thought.

But when she went to the bookshop she met a man, a widower. They clicked straightaway. Ended up having dinner together.

She’s already talking about going on holiday with him.

‘I just want to talk to the old lady. Find out why she’s done this to me.’

‘I understand why you’re upset, but there’s nothing I can do,’ the woman said, waving a hand round the light and airy room. ‘There’s no old lady living here. I have to ask you to leave now.’

She watched Pete walk away, a broken man.

It was the same every Easter. As soon as she left to visit her family in Scotland, her aunt’s ghost came back, looking for new prey.

Eight years earlier, Dora had fallen victim to a lying cheating unfaithful man.

She’d never recovered, and died on Easter Sunday from a broken heart.

The ‘special’ eggs were her way of getting revenge.

‘You have to stop doing this, Aunt Dora,’ she said as she closed the door.

But there was no reply. Her Aunt’s ghost was gone for another year.

‘There’s no old lady living here. I have to ask you to leave now’