Confession of a Convict

I hated that old woman. I hated her!! But I had no other choice. I had to live with her. I was a poor student who couldn't afford rent. I had to accept an existence in the small room that was part of Mrs. Sosnowska's apartment.

She was a witch, a toad. Her old gray hair was perpetually greasy. It often fell out, and as a result, I encountered it everywhere: in the bathroom, in the bathtub, in the kitchen, on the table where I ate—it was even in my room. I couldn't bathe or eat peacefully—the old woman's gray, greasy hairs clung to me everywhere.

Furthermore, she had black, sagging gums, over which she placed false teeth. She took that jaw out every day and put it in a glass of water and put it in the refrigerator—the Streep Teeth of old age. How many times did I almost have heart palpitations at the sight of that jaw when I opened the refrigerator?

To top it all off, the old woman had one glass eye, a terrible eye that seemed to be able to see everything. It could drill, pierce a person to death.

It wasn't just her appearance that was oppressive, but also her behavior. This ghostly witch tried to penetrate every corner of my soul, pierce my thoughts, and interfere in every matter of daily life. She scrutinized visiting friends, instructed me when to study, and at 10:00 a.m., with loud grunts, signaled that I should turn off the lights and retire. She was unbearable. Oh my God! She even watched over me and instructed me on how to hard-boil eggs and wouldn't let me sleep past seven on Sundays. All this may seem ridiculous to you, my dear readers, but think for yourselves. Just one such behavior is irritating, let alone several, even dozens, entering your lives with dirty shoes, interfering with every little detail of daily life. For example, an old woman would wake me up at three in the morning because "blue smoke" was coming out of the radiator. She claimed the neighbors were leaking poisonous gases through her radiator, and I had to complain to the building administrator and make a fool of myself, because, of course, no one would intervene in such a stupid matter. Everyone thought she was crazy. You ask, my dears, if we ever had arguments? Well, we did – first minor quarrels, then increasingly larger arguments. We argued about everything: how much water we used, how much we used the phone. I blamed her primarily for the fact that her loud talking (to make matters worse, she was talking to herself) prevented me from studying. After such an argument, there were always two days of "peace" because the old woman wouldn't speak to me. On those quiet days, she'd sometimes just come to my door and whisper, "I have to be quiet, because Krystianek has to study." She'd say this in a hoarse whisper into the crack in the door so I could hear it clearly, but it distracted me from my studies and prevented me from concentrating for the next half hour. My blood boiled with rage.

To make matters worse, I must admit that the old woman was incredibly lively, incredibly bright, and intelligent, which made my life even more difficult! She was everywhere! She knew how to use the internet, could operate video, and even had her own pager! This allowed her to control me even more closely. She secretly read my text messages on her cell phone! Once, when I caught her doing this, I brazenly asked if she couldn't afford her own cell phone? She replied that she didn't know how to use it. I wondered then about the purpose of this lie, because she could, she did! Was she predicting something? Was she clairvoyant? To my incredulous look, she replied, "Cell phone radiation is harmful to my health, and I have to take care of my health!

Because of her, my life has become unbearable. Because of her, and because of that damn alarm clock!"

Here I must explain. The old woman had a large, antique alarm clock in her room, which she probably inherited from her grandmother.

This clock completely unsettled my nerves, pushed my spirit to the brink, and my body almost to the point of self-destruction. Why, you ask? This monstrous clock woke me up every morning. It emitted a very loud, distinctive sound – the irritating squeak of a dying, yelping mouse. The sound grew louder and finally blared like an alarm until the old woman deigned to wake up and turn it off. I repeatedly warned my nasty landlady to turn down the volume or set it for a later hour – after all, she didn't go to work. But she wouldn't listen to me, disregarding my words. Then I decided to act...

One day, I sneaked into her room, picked up the clock, and threw it to the ground with all my might. He was so massive that nothing happened to him, but I noted with joy that the fall must have broken the clock mechanism, as it stopped ticking. That night, I happily retired to bed.

My rage, anger, and terror—you can only imagine, my dear readers—were roused from my sleep at precisely six in the morning by the sound of that dreadful alarm clock. That disgusting woman must have fixed it, or it was simply indestructible!!!! Just like her!!!!

But after a moment, I reflected—no one is indestructible. And then, for the first time, the thought flashed through my mind. At first, timidly, then increasingly stronger. Finally, I let it sink in. I decided to MURDER the old woman.

Within a week, I had devised a simple and, it seemed to me, cunning plan. I decided to sneak into Mrs. Sosnowska's room at night with a pillow. Then I would quietly tiptoe to her bed, cover her face with a pillow, and press down with all my might. The old woman might struggle, but I am young, strong, and agile, so I would certainly be able to handle it. In this way, I would help her simply, easily, and almost painlessly—because in her sleep—transition to eternity.

You ask, did I have any doubts or scruples? Of course I did. But one thought strengthened my conviction—that if I killed her, I would be free. This freedom propelled me into action.

I began preparing for the crime. I acquired a small silk pillow. I found a suitable place to hide the body. I also began practicing walking quietly, or rather, sneaking around, so that on the critical night I could silently approach the old woman's bed. I consoled myself with the fact that she was certainly a sound sleeper, since the clock emitted such a loud alarm in the morning.

Finally, the long-awaited day arrived, when Mrs. Sosnowska's life hung in the balance. From early morning, something hung in the air. From the moment I woke up, I was happy that I would be free the next day. Little did I know, however, that my freedom would be short-lived.

When evening came, I immediately turned off the light and went to bed. Time passed very slowly. Eventually, the old woman also retired to bed. I waited another three hours and finally rose to carry out my criminal plan.

I silently reached the old woman's door. I quietly opened it and slipped into the room. I paused for a moment and listened. The old woman's even, slightly raspy breathing reached my ears. It was so quiet that I could hear the gentle beating of her heart, a heart that would soon stop beating. I groped my way to her bed. Through the half-covered window, the faint glow of a distant streetlamp filtered into the room. It fell on her face. I studied her for a moment. Suddenly, I flinched as the old woman's glass eye suddenly opened. This spurred me into action. I immediately threw myself on the bed, covering her face with a pillow. The old woman began to struggle, her hideous, wrinkled hands trying to push me away. I pressed the pillow hard... with all my strength. After a moment, the old woman's body began to thrash weaker and weaker, then emitted only slight tremors. Finally, it froze. I ripped the pillow away. Then the old woman jumped up, and her terrible scream rent the air. This insubordination enraged me. I punched her in the face, and when she fell back onto the bed, I pressed the pillow down again, this time for a longer time. Finally, the old woman stopped breathing, and her heart stopped beating. Mrs. Sosnowska was surely dead.

I was finally free. Leaning against the wall, I felt sweat trickling down my back and forehead... I never expected murder to be such hard work.

But I had no time to waste. I quickly removed four boards from the wall in the old woman's bedroom. Then I tore off the insulating layer of Styrofoam and fiberglass wool behind the boards. I pushed the old woman's body into the prepared space. It fit perfectly, I covered it again with Styrofoam and fiberglass wool, and finally replaced the boards and nailed them firmly. Everything was done perfectly! The body couldn't be found, so I had committed the perfect crime!

Just as I thought this, someone knocked on the door... A little worried, I opened it. My heart suddenly started beating faster as three police officers entered the apartment. I glanced at my watch – it was 5:45.

"Good morning, sir, may we come in?

" "Of course," I said in a preemptive, polite tone. "What brings you here?

" "We received a call from your downstairs neighbor. Apparently, she heard a very loud scream coming from this apartment."

"Screaming???? That's very strange," I said, feeling a chill run down my spine.

"Do you live here alone?" one of the police officers asked.

"No," I explained. "I only rent a room here, and the owner of the apartment is Mrs. Genowefa Sosnowska. In short, we lived here together.

" "We lived?" the policeman asked, surprised. "Does that mean you no longer live together? And what happened to the owner of the apartment?

" "I said lived?" I said insincerely – the word had just come up. I meant to say we live.

" "So where is the owner?

" "She left.

" "Where?" one of the policemen continued.

"I don't know, she didn't say where or for how long.

" "Can we look around the apartment? You understand... a routine check.

" "Oh, please," I replied, and led the officers through a long, dark corridor leading straight to the old woman's room. Along the way, the officers peered into every room they passed, but in the old woman's room, they lingered for a while. Unfortunately for me, as it turned out.

"So this is where that old lady lives?" One of them asked.

"Yes, here," I said, and at that moment something terrifying happened, something awful and incomprehensible.

First, the town hall clock outside the window struck 6:00, and then a familiar sound rang out. The terrible shriek of the hideous alarm clock that woke me every morning. The signal grew louder and louder, and... oh my god, it was coming from behind the wall, from the place where I'd hidden the old woman's body! I looked at the alarm clock on the table—it wasn't the one that went off every morning.

The policemen stirred... At first, they didn't know what this phenomenon was or how to react.

"What's in that wall?" one of them asked.

"I don't know," I replied, stuttering

. "We'll check right away," one of them replied, and walked over to the wall.

"No!!!!!!" I screamed, blocking the wall with my body. "You can't!!!!!

" "He's gone crazy!!!! Take him away

." I started struggling with the policemen, but it was no use. They pulled me away from the wall, and one of them removed the loose boards from where I'd hidden the body. Then, in his arms, fell the body of a hideous old woman who, even in death, could be mean and make life miserable for others. In her pocket was a cell phone. It was this cell phone that woke the old woman up every morning at 6 a.m., emitting that eerie polyphonic sound...

Now I sit in prison, writing these words. I was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an old woman. While I have no grievances about the sentence, I cannot agree that I was charged with premeditated murder, with carefully planned crimes. Don't they understand that emotions can build over several months? That I was driven to action by the desire for a taste of freedom, the old woman's glassy eye, and the repulsive sound of a polyphonic bell!!!????