• My name was Colin Pedrosa; I was a family orientated guy, aged 45 when I was murdered on the 16th of June 2008. As they say; I was just unlucky ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time!’ It was going to be my leaving party at work; shiny balloons floating about, a large sponge cake with icing wishing me ‘good luck’ and the odd present from fellow staff. As a loyal employee of happy day’s ltd I expected this. I was nothing special, just an average accountant sat in front of a computer screen all day , whilst my brain slowly melted. I just wanted to do something with my life, to know that when I died people would remember the name Colin Pedrosa. Looking back, I had a great life , two beautiful children, named Max and Danni, they where fabulous kids; grade A students .Of course, they had there moments, but they where teenagers, what do you expect? I had been married to my wife for 18 years. Yet all of this was taken away from me in a matter of seconds.
    It was an average morning. I listened to the radio, as I poured milk over my weetabix, the forecast was “cloudy with showers expected”, which pleased me as I had to go to work on my motorbike .The wife and children where using the family car to get to the local theme park, they went every year, it was almost like a family ritual but unfortunately I couldn’t get the day off work, as it was my last day and the grumpy boss never paid anyone there weekly wages if they took one day off! As soon as my family left, I knew something was slightly wrong with me. I had increased hearing; the slightest noise managed to send me into a state of paranoia and I experienced the worst migraine imaginable, it felt like my skull was being crushed between two heavy concrete slabs. I decided, after taking some painkillers ( which didn’t work), I had to go straight to the hospital. The journey there was terrible, it was like driving blind, I couldn’t remember anything; how to changer gears, balance and even brake. Not only was I a hazard to myself but I was a threat to others. After riding through many red lights, I arrived at the hospital. Unfortunately as soon as I got off the motorbike, I slumped to the ground, paralyzed from the neck downwards, I was completely useless. It was terrible seeing nurses and doctors rush to help me while people screamed in horror, not being able to do anything but stare into space and hope it was all a dream. Everything was a blur after that, seeing the ceiling lights rush over my head, and then everything went black. They told my family that the cause of the death was ‘accidental suicide’, that I had overdosed on painkillers! But that was complete and utter nonsense, why would I ever do that? They must have missed something. I was ill before I took pain killers, someone must have poisoned me…they must have!
    Thinking back to my death; the feeling of hopelessness, knowing that I couldn’t do anything. I was just a vegetable in excruciating pain, wanting to scream out in agony ,to release all the anger that was trapped inside me. It was beyond hell, all my worst nightmares put into one. The loneliness was the worst, to know that you where miles away from the people that you loved, that the doctors saw things like this every day .You were just another droplet of water in the ocean, none of them really cared if I died or survived they just wanted their pay check at the end of the week.
    The night before my death, I went to the pub with a couple of old friends, John and Levi. We where celebrating ,tomorrow we where going to leave our jobs behind and start a business, our idea was going to be worth millions and we knew it. It was going to be bigger than the iPod, a new revolution in technology. They must have just got too big for their boots, slipped a teaspoon of poison into my pint, the perfect murder and it seems they’ve gotten away with it. The doctors were certain that I had taken an overdose , not for one second did they think that maybe it wasn’t, maybe I was murdered! It made me sick to the bottom of my stomach, that my child hood friends could do such a thing, never mind do it to me. I had trusted them from the age of three; we went everywhere together, we were the best of friends. Come to think of it ,that night they were not acting normally; stuttering through every sentence, the sweat dripping down their already greasy skin and their eyes where dilated, as if they were demons, carbon black and emotionless
    I looked down, back on earth, at my family, to see the stress and pain across my wife’s face, because she thought that I had committed suicide. I focused many days in heaven trying to make her look back at our wedding photos and love letters I had written to her. Surely she must have realised that not only did I not commit suicide but it wasn’t her fault, the sadness of seeing her so depressed, was awful, she couldn’t even look my children in their eyes. I was scared for her, worried that she might... that she might do something she will regret. I just want to hug her and tell her everything’s all right, that I am safe up here and that she has to move on. Max and Danni took it in, in completely different ways; Max tried to move on straight away, he took position of the man of the household, took care of his mum and ignored that my death had ever occurred. I guess he was disappointed in me, not only did he have to live with the stigma of his dad committing suicide but, he thought everything was perfect in the family, which it was! However Danni my daughter was the only one who believed that I didn’t commit suicide, no matter how many doctors said I committed suicide she denied it. She kept looking for clues because at the morning of my death I was happy; I wasn’t at all depressed or even angry. She always knew when something was wrong with me, something to do with “the colour of my skin”, she said.
    I spent a few weeks just gazing at my family, wishing I was there to help them through this; but of course I was dead, I couldn’t do anything but watch. Or so I thought. If I concentrated all my energy onto one person I could make them look for things and help them out. I started small; making Max find his English coursework that he had misplaced in the kitchen and I reminded my wife of all the good times we had, that It was not her fault because I enjoyed my life, that every single minute I spent with her was better than my heaven. This made me cry with joy, to know that even though I was dead I could still help out with their lives.
    Eventually I used this ‘gift’ to help Danni find my killer’s! In the top draw of my rusty copper filing cabinet, lay all the contracts of the business, every legal document I had signed was in that draw. I thought that perhaps if she found them and saw the dates of when everything started (17th of June) she might realise that those b*******, killed me for money. Danni started looking into the business, when she found the documents. Never before had I seen a teenager so determined to research a subject, sometimes she spent days without sleep reading through all the 465 documents, she knew that it was John and Levi, all she needed was the evidence.
    When I am not looking down at the earth, I wander around my heaven. It is glorious; all I ever wanted is in this one place. I have access to all the new gadgets, from classy iPods to the latest plasma TV’s, I live in the grandest mansion, the walls are made of pure gold with platinum floorboards, also everyday is a Saturday, so I never had to work and money is not an issue. The landscape changes from place to place. In the north; the sun glistens off the snowy white mountains, polar bears room around harmlessly, there are snowboarding resorts everywhere you look and the views of the frozen lakes are ‘to die for’. Whereas the south is made up of golden beaches, which stretch for miles, pyramids point towards the sky, the oceans are translucent blue and you will never see a cloud in the sky! Yet, in the centre of my heaven is a city; filled with huge skyscrapers which light up the dark sky at night, autobahns so that I can rapidly pass over the land, with my hair blowing in the wind. There is also entertainment left, right and centre from cinemas to stadiums, the city has everything. Of course it was never going to be perfect without my family, but I would rather have them enjoying life than in my heaven.
    Back on earth things were starting too look up as well.
    “MUUUUUUUUM, MUUUUUUUM” shouted Danni down the ageing stairwell “I can prove that dad didn’t commit suicide”
    “Danni… you know that can’t be possible, the doctors told us that he took an… overdose” she replied, with tears streaming down her blushed cheeks. ”now stop messing about and do your homework”
    “You don’t understand! Dad’s business partners killed him, for the money! If I give these documents to the police and show the medical information, I can prove that Levi and John poisoned him the night before he died,’ lost smiles began to slowly crept across both of their faces, as my wife brushed away her tears, she finally realised that it all made perfect sense. They rushed to the nearest police station straight away, with documents in hand and explained to the bobby at the desk, what had happened.
    After my death, Levi’s and John’s business blossomed, selling 100,000 units in the first day of release. The gadget was a must have in every house across the world; it was coming up daisies, until… BOOM, BOOM, the force of the police’s batons, shook the room. As the police stormed through their warehouse, with all guns blazing, Levi and John ran with panic stricken faces, trying to make a quick getaway but the police had barricaded all exits, there was no escape! In a strange way I enjoyed seeing this more than anything, knowing that my name was not said in shame, I was glad that people knew the truth! Instead of thinking I was a depressed druggy, they knew what monsters Levi and John really were.
    On the 16th of June 2009 my murderers were finally convicted of 1st degree murder, and sentenced to the death penalty, exactly one year after my death. I watched their once creative minds burn with the force of 1000V, there faces rapidly trembled in pain and I…i…enjoyed it, watching them suffer entertained me. I had become as bad as they where or at least that’s how I felt.
    Years flew by after their judgement day. Family life had returned to normal, with Max and Danni ready to leave home, my adorable wife had settled down with a new partner, his name was Sam- I can’t say that I approved of him but I was just happy to see my wife enjoying life. Danni had aced all of her tests and was offered a place at Harvard University to study forensic science. Of course I am very proud to be the father of such a wonderful child and owe her a lot for believing that I had not committed suicide and bringing my murderers to justice. Max gained full ownership of the business, making millions that the product had always deserved. He later married a wonderful girl that often came to ours when she was young; she gave birth to his first child Colin in memory of me. I couldn’t have wished for anything more, they all had what they wanted all along, I just wish that I could be there with them to be a father figure in their time of need.


    mrgreen scream gonk burning_eyes