The Night

Chapter Nine

        My eyes opened again, and I felt rough tree bark against my back.  Crickets cheerfully chirping all around me while I found myself wearing this lovely, long, silky black dress.  I held out my hands in front of me; my skin was a deathly pale.  I had died after all. I drew my hair in my hands and found it to be pitch black.  I actually really liked it.  I still felt powerless and as if all of my energy was drained from me, and I felt so different…I supposed it was because I was different.  Maybe Death had been able to grant my wish after all.

            I shakily stood up, trying to keep my balance. I’m taking my first steps all over again.  I was so lost though.  Was there some sort of “welcome to the afterlife” tutorial to all of this?

            “Crystal?”  I heard my name being called by a familiar voice.

            “Victor?!” I cried hopefully while my heart jumped.

            I heard a rustling from a bit of a distance and made out his figure rushing towards me.  “Crystalina, what happened to you?”  He saw that I looked different, obviously.

            How was I going to explain this?  “Oh, I uh, I died.” I chuckled awkwardly.  This sounded so weird.  He reached me but took a step even closer towards me.

            “What?   But how are you…” He touched my hair and stroked my cheek.  I felt a shiver run through me.

            “You look like I do,” he said in low tones, his brain trying to process this.

            “Yeah, Death gave me a wish.  I wanted to set you free but he told me that he couldn’t undo what had already been done.  But he could make something that hadn’t yet been done.”

            “So…you cursed yourself?”

            “It’s not a curse!  Now you won’t be alone anymore!”  I tried to smile.  What if he didn’t want this?  Had I made the wrong decision?

            “But you could’ve chosen something else, and you chose to be as I am?”

            “Yes, Victor, I did.”  My lips broke into a smile.

            His mouth was still dropped in disbelief, yet he looked so touched.

            “I…I don’t…I don’t know what to say.  I’m just…I’m just so happy.”  He finally said.

            “Well, you don’t have to say anything else then,” I giggled and threw my arms around him in a hug.

            “I just…no one’s ever done something like that for me before. Ever.”  The hug lingered between us into a silent embrace as his hand held the back of my head. 

            “Crystal, have I ever told you…” he hesitated.

            “Told me what?”  I drew apart from him so I could look him in the eyes as we spoke.

            “I don’t think I have.  Crystalina, I love you.”

            My heart wanted to reach for the stars.  “I love you too, Victor, so much.”

            He kissed me passionately.  “You set me free,” he murmured onto my lips.  “You set me free from an eternity of loneliness, and I could never be more grateful.”

            He said that I saved him, but truly he saved me.

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So there's the end of my story! I've written a few epilogue drafts so I might upload one of those too but I'm not sure yet.  I really hope you guys enjoyed it!  Thanks for reading and please let me know if you have any feedback! :)