Ten Steps

I put on a clean collar. I was in our room on the second floor where I could see into the Hubbel’s yard , and the ring on the stone post where they tie up their dog. The dog wasn’t there. The collar which I took off had two kinds of laundry mark on the inside, one mark from the laundry where I used to take my shirts and a second mark from the present laundry. Then I washed my hands.

I said I was going now. I went out through the back door into the yard. There I saw my kid playing with some sand and toy truck, and then running the truck back and forth through sand. The sand was wet, and I could see the print of his hand on it. It was his left hand. I said,’ ’so long, son,‘’ to him, but he didn’t say anything. He was too busy with his truck and the sand. Then I went to the garage, and unlock the door. I ran a cloth over the windshield of the car, and it was scratched in a half circle where the windshield wiper wipes it. And I stood there a couple minutes, and then I closed the doors and walked alongside of the house to the frond and looked at my watch. It was twenty minutes to ten. Then I walked down the wooden steps to the sidewalk, and I counted the steps. I counted ten steps, I thought I counted the last step, but perhaps I didn’t . I walked down the street, and I looked back, and saw the house , and there was one window with a shade halfway down, and I wanted to go back and count the steps again to make sure, but I didn’t. I walked down to the corner and took the bus and got off at the police station and found Captain Rogers and told him that if they were looking for the man who killed Sam Mathews they should arrest me because I had done it. Captain Rogers asked me if I want to write out a confession and I said that I would, but before I tell them how I killed Mathews I want to write down the last things which I saw in my house and how I remember them, because now I will want always to be able to remember about all those things that I won’t ever see again.