Devil in Shepherd's Robes

Ch 10: A Past Life

His eyes fluttered open as he shot up to his feet, holding his head in his hands. It must've been a bad dream, but he couldn't remember much about it. He looked down at his sleeping wife, smiling as he laid back down next to her under the silky white sheets. The house was warm, the heat must've come on in the middle of the night.

"You okay?" Silvia murmured, still half asleep as she turned to face her husband.

"Yeah... just a bad dream. Go back to sleep." Victor said, running his fingers through his wife's hair as her tired eyes opened, smiling up at him kindly.

"You scared me for a second, thought you were gonna have another heart attack... asshole." She said playfully, poking his chest with her finger as if to scold the heart within.

"That was a one time thing, I promise. The doctors said it was probably just stress from work, and I've been fine ever since then. It's been, what, six months?"

"Something like that..." Silvia said, her voice fading out as her eyes closed once again. Her hand rested heavily atop his chest as her breathing slowed, falling back asleep. Her faint snores filled the room as Victor listened to the lullaby of her sleep. Laying his head back against the soft pillows, he stared up at the ceiling with a content look settling upon his face.

The heart attack wasn't nearly as serious as they thought it was, simply a fluke. Every once in a while he does feel the stresses of daily life, but just being with his wife calms his soul. She was everything to him, his entire life, his entire reason for living. Without her, Victor didn't see himself having a future. It was them against the world.

As he felt his heavy eyelids close, he looked over to his wife, her peaceful face filling his heart with love.

...

"Goodmorning, how'd you sleep?" She asked, watching Victor shuffle his tired feet across the cold wooden floor as he sipped his coffee.

"I slept alright, I don't remember what that bad dream was about though... how about you?"

"I dreamt of you, believe it or not. You and I went to the beach, stuck our toes in the sand, and ignored our stupid little adult responsibilities." Silvia sighed glumly, obviously upset at having reality shoved into her face after waking from such a peaceful dream.

"If only." Victor said, making his way over to her to kiss her gently on the forehead, "Y'know, why don't we go on vacation? After you get home from work today, how about we do a little research, find a nice sandy beach to ignore the world on?"

Silvia looked up at him with a childish grin, her mood instantly perking up at the mention of vacation. Sure, their days off together were filled with fun and comfort, but the stresses of work get to everyone once in a while. It's good to just relax and let time tick by, she thought, watching the world move a few steps ahead without being in it.

"Sounds like a plan..." She began, but the ringing of her phone alarm reminded her of the mundane day she had ahead of her, "shit... I've gotta go, can't be late... I love you!" Silvia said hurriedly, pecking Victor on the cheek as she rushed out the door, grabbing a small black bag on her way.

As Victor stood by the window and sipped his coffee, he watched as his wife's car pulled out the short and sad excuse of a driveway, speeding away for yet another day's paycheck. He knew how much his wife wanted to get away from the grueling tasks of everyday life, but nonetheless, she made it work. They both did. Together they could achieve anything, even financial freedom from the rat race they called life. The only thing the two of them truly cared about was being together, and to achieve that goal, they would earn their financial freedom and spend the rest of their days somewhere they could be alone. Uninterrupted by the demands of the world, living out their life the way they chose.