I just finished this short story and wanted to share it with the rest of you. If you "tl;dr" or "cool story bro" I will report your post.
Ignis Fatuus.
A dim light began to pour into my eyes. As subdued as it may have been, it still burned my eyes and coerced them to close again. I was lying on a hard wooden floor, it smelled of mold and dirt. I began to hear a faint voice, it belonged to a woman, it was low and tainted with disdain. "Yes mother, I think I've finally found the one." ... "This time it's different, he's beautiful and loving." ... "SHUT UP! NO!" She screamed like a banshee, the 'no' was drawn out; it was piercing and I thought I was going to go deaf. "You have no idea! I hate you!" ... "I love you mom" I then realized I heard no other voice, I assumed she was on the phone. I managed to open my eyes wide enough to see the ceiling; it was low and wooden, very old. I heard foot steps coming my way and quickly closed my eyes again. She stopped at my feet, her voice dropped even lower, almost to a whisper, "Don't mind her, she doesn't understand some things. Let's get you outside." I couldn't move a muscle, I was frozen, but yet I wanted to obey. She dropped down beside me and lifted me over her shoulder with ease, she was surprisingly strong.
She opened the door and the icy air cut into me like a knife. Luckily I was still wearing my jacket so I managed not to shiver. We moved across the ground, the smell of nature tantilizing my senses. I was laid gently onto a mattress on the ground, trying my best to keep my eyes shut tight. I heard her dragging a chair across the ground next to me, she sat. There was a silence, only interrupted by the wind moving the trees or the occasional animal rustling the leaves. It seemed to last forever, until she finally spoke. "I know you're different, you will care for me won't you? You will call me beautiful every day and hold me tight when there's a storm." I had a wife back home, whichever direction that was in, I began to miss her gravely and I wanted to cry. I held back my tears, I didn't want to let her know I was awake, I was craving for the next thing she said like an addiction. "I want you to put me in line when I disobey, I need you to give me rules and protect me." She began to weep gently, then as suddenly as she started she had stopped.
"Wake up darling, the guests are awaiting us." I hesitated before I opened my eyes, I wasn't sure if I wanted to. "There you are," she said softly in an almost motherly tone, "we need to get dressed, this is a big day." I had no idea what she was talking about, before I had time to think about it she was sitting me up straight. I re-trained my muscles to work and supported myself, I refused to look at her. "There you go, wait here while I get your clothes." What clothes was she talking about? She stood upright and retreated to the shack. I looked around, I was in the middle of a clearing in the woods, the shack to my left was wooden and deteriorated; I could tell it was very old. I wanted to get up and run as fast I could, anywhere, I wanted to get away. And yet, I wanted to stay, I was so curious as to what was going on- I had to see what was happening next.
She opened the door and started towards me with an armful of black clothing. It was then that I finally saw her face; she was beautiful, not in a classic sense, but in her own way. She could not have been more than thirty-something years old yet she had lines in her face, lines you would expect on someone who was of a much older age. She was not very tall, she was very thin and emaciated, her stature made me surprised much further at the strength she had exerted earlier. She approached me. "Here you are, put these on, I have to get dressed myself." She dropped the clothes onto my legs and retreated once more to the shack. I unfolded the clothes; it was a tuxedo, it was obviously very old but kept very well. I began to change, I had to obey her, I had to see what was in store. It fit surprisingly well, nearly as if it had been tailored to me, it smelled a bit musky.
I stood there next to the mattress for what seemed to be twenty or thirty minutes when I heared the door open. She appeared in the doorway in a very intricate and beautiful white wedding dress. A veil covered her face, she had a bouqet of wilting flowers in her hands, she began to march slowly over to me. I stood there in awe, I had no idea who she was and yet I began to fall for her. I felt terrified yet intrigued, I hated her for taking me away from my home and yet I loved her; I was fifty percent sure of it. She finally stopped a few paces in front of me, with one hand she threw back her veil. "I know it's unlucky to see the bride before the wedding but I wanted so bad for you to see this dress." Wedding? I was already married. "Do you like your suit? It was my father's, this dress was my mother's. They wore these at their wedding." She was going to marry me? Had I agreed to this? I had a wife already, and yet I felt like this was almost right.
"Come, they're waiting." Who? She led me around the shack. A terrifying smell hit my face, I wanted to vomit, it smelled like death. The closer we got to the front of the shack the worse the smell became. When we made it around, I was taken aback by a very fancy wedding scene; there were rows of chairs in front of an altair made of wood. The stage was lined with a mixture of dead and colorful roses, there were streamers looping the arch. The smell was nearly unbearable, the mixture of the stench and the amazement of the scene had distracted me from noticing the people in the chairs. They were dressed in fancy clothes, they sat lifeless and stiff. They were dead. I wanted to faint, I wanted to cry, I wanted to run away, but I couldn't. She led me up onto the stage and stood me there next to the dead and decaying preacher that had been posed behind a podium with a seriers of wooden supports.
I stood there as she descended and walked over to the first row of chairs on the left. "Alright dad," She said to him, "It's time to give your daughter away." I was mortified, beside the chair where he sat I presumed was her mother; the one she was arguing with earlier, who was she trying to convince after all? She held him by his waist and threw his arm over her shoulder and began to move towards the end of the aisle, once again showing immense strength for a woman of her size. They turned around and she began marching slowly up to me. Her eyes were welling up with tears, I wanted to cry with her. They reached the stage once more, she sat him back down and came up to me. We stood there staring at each other, she began with, "We are gathered here today..." And proceeded to recite the preacher's lines flawlessly, she must have done this many times before. Her name was Rachael, and I was surprised to hear my name come from her mouth.
"Johnathon, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to her as long as you both shall live?" "I do." I spat without thinking. Why did I say yes? I will never know. "Rachael, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to him as long as you both shall live? I do." She said, tears streaming down her face. "In your right pocket, Jonathon." I reached inside and produce a beautiful diamond ring. She gave me her hand I slid it into her finger slowly. I looked back up at her. "I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride." She said shakily. I slowly leaned in, and right before our lips touched she stopped and whispered something. "What are you doing?" The minute the last sound left her mouth she collapsed on the floor. I quickly kneeled and lifted her head up onto my legs, "Are you ok?" She looked serene. She was dead. I began to cry, I began to miss my wife intensely.
I laid her back down and stood up slowly. I descended the stairs and walked back down the aisle past the rows of dead bodies. I walked for miles through the woods. Night came and went, still I pressed forward ignoring my exhaustion and hunger, ignoring the cold and the sharp pain in my lungs. I eventually found the road, there were police, my wife was there. Suddenly, sharp pains shot throughout my body, I looked down at my hands; they were covered in blood and cuts. I was no longer wearing the tuxedo, I was back in my normal clothes, they were ripped and dirty. I collapsed on my side, I saw a car that was completely totalled into a tree. It took me a moment to realize it was mine. My wife screamed and ran towards me, she kneeled and lifted me up onto her legs and said, "Are you ok?" Just as I had done to Rachael. I then remembered what had happened; My wife and I had an argument and I stormed away in my car, I hit a pot hole, lost control, and plowed into a tree. Rachael, the wedding, the corpses, none of them existed. "Yes, I am fine." I gargled from the back of my throat.
I looked up at my wife, she was looking down at me with her face covered in tears, eyes puffy and red, mucus streaming from her nose; she had never looked more beautiful to me.
Show Posts
