A Teaspoon Of Stardust

A Teaspoon Of Her Stardust

 “         What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.

              - Charles Bukowski

     I dropped to my knees.

    "No!" I cry. "You can't take her! Please don't take her away from me!" 

     She died for me, she gave up her life so that the rest of us could love.

    As much as I'm sure Luke tried to hide it, I saw a hint of relief on his face. I can't blame him. I'm relieved as well that his sister can live.

    The thing is, when that clock struck midnight, I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel any sudden burst of happiness and a new feeling at all. I felt sadness. I wasn't expecting some big firework show, or even an overwhelming feeling at all, but after being deprived of love for a good sixteen years, I expected a little more.

    I guess it was all a lie. Love isn't real.

   "You lied." I seethed. "You killed her, and now I don't feel anything at all. I hate you! I hate you with every fiber of my being."

    Luke had to restrain me from going after her. I shoved him off me and came close to Evangeline's face.

    "The curse hasn't been lifted. There's still more." She muttered. In that moment, she didn't look mean and she didn't look angry. She looked regretful. Was it possible she felt guilty about the curse? "I don't want to have to say this, but if you don't put me to rest, the curse will still stand."

   There's more?

   "If I'm not at rest, I cannot uplift the curse. Once I am at peace, it will be buried with me forever."

And then she was gone.

Luke and I were once again standing outside in the same clearing in front of the clock tower, but this time as we gazed up at it, the tower was old and rusty again. It was crumbling along with the rest of the hateful little village and beneath the layers of rocks and rubble that stood in the aftermath of years of neglect, lie secrets better left buried.

"Thank you, Scarlett. Thank you." The whispers said. White wisps rose up from the hard ground like souls being released.

One in particular floated over to me. "You saved us from her. We were the Murrys she captured and lured into that clock tower with the promise of a love we never felt. But she killed us in there, Scarlett. You were the strongest, a love more powerful than her hatred. Hundreds of years we were trapped,tricked into thinking death was the only option. Now we are free, and for that we are eternally grateful."

The souls cheered quietly and happiness ran through me like a current. They rose up, up, up into the sky and out of view. Evangeline was a killer. She was also crazy. Something must've snapped in her that day, making her think what she'd done was right. She truly thought she were saving them from the same fate, and it drove het into insanity.

Something had changed in the air, and when I got a better look at the clock tower itself, I noticed that the hands had once again begun to tick. That was the only movement throughout the entire area.

It made me wonder, if maybe that clock had stopped working the day Evangeline was burned at the stake. It made me wonder if it represented change.

"Let's head back to my car, I think we both could use some sleep after this." Luke said and wrapped an arm around my shoulder as I nodded. I didn't feel anything this time. No invisible barrier or straight jacket. I didn't feel love either, though. I was just plain numb.