I don't know what happened. I don't. I can't.

We went to the movie. We saw Hugo. We looked silly in our 3D glasses. We laughed and went outside. It was dark.

There was a shot. It was so loud, it was deafening. Claire stopped and fell. You know how in movies the big dramatic moments come in slow motion? This wasn't in slow motion. In fact, it felt as if things sped up. If felt as if the world was moving so much faster.

The homeless guy. The homeless guy stepped out of the shadows. He had a revolver in his hand. He was pointing it at me. "If you knew what was after you," he said, "you'd consider this a blessing."

He pointed the gun at me. He pulled the trigger. I could see him. I wanted to close my eyes, but it was like they were frozen open, staring at him. The harmless homeless man. The man who killed Claire.

He pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The gun didn't go off again. It looked blue under the fluorescent lights.

And then there was a voice calling out. "Alouette, gentille Alouette." The voice was soft like a whisper and the homeless man looked unnerved. "Alouette, je te plumerai. Je te plumerai la tête. Je te plumerai la tête." The homeless man dropped the revolver to the ground and ran. He turned a corner into an alley and I heard a scream and then the voice. "Et la tête. Et la tête."

I looked down at Claire's body when suddenly she gasped and sat up. She hugged me and said he must have missed. We called the police and I reported the homeless man, but I didn't tell them about the voice. I just couldn't.

Claire was so scared, I escorted her all the way home. At her door, she kissed me.

Her kiss was cold.