The Taboo Topics

Memories

Crrnk Crrnk Crrnk,

The shovel repeatedly dove into the dark soil, creating a disturbing noise of metal grinding against sand. The man with the tousled russet hair inhaled the earthy scent and his chocolate eyes glistened iridescent as he glanced up. The sky was dark and every star was covered by a thick coat of looming clouds.

The lights of the house shone through the night in the distance, taunting him, reminding him of things he didn't want to remember. He briefly wondered whether he should drop by to say hi to his godson, but decided against it. His sudden presence would only worry the boy.

The ominous, shadowy trees towered over him, whispering to each other in the wind, the wispy moonlight reflecting off of their pearly leaves. He involuntarily shivered as he wondered which sinister, uncanny creatures could be lurking in this murky haze, especially now.

He pushed those thoughts far into the back of his mind, once again thrusting the shovel into the dirt. His clothes were windswept and filthy, his face gaunt and greyish; his mouth twisted into a snarl when he pulled an object from the pocket of his frayed cloak.

It was a locket. 

The locket was manufactured brilliantly. A hoary disk hung by a delicate silver chain, embedded in its centre laid an emerald gem. Around it, two words were etched into the silver in graceful, twined letters. 

Tom and Dorea.

The shimmering, verdant jewel told a tale of broken promises, lost innocence and forbidden relations. 

Memories nobody really recalled all too fondly.

They'd be lost forever, he knew as he hurled it into the ravine he'd dug. An odd sentiment tugged at his chest as he watched it land in the dirt with a silent thumping noise.

He cast a last, longing, regretful glance onto the beautiful adornment. How much he wished he could keep it - after all, it was of sentimental value to him - but it had to go. Nobody could ever know. He'd hidden it at his friends house in his room, which nobody could acces, not even his friend or Molly, his maid. But during the last holidays, in an unguarded moment, Molly and her daughter had slipped in and insisted on cleaning it. The little girl had almost stumbled upon the necklace, which he'd carefully hidden behind a picture of him and his family at Christmas time, back when his parents had still been among them. Just in time, he'd barged in and shooed them out. He couldn't take that risk any longer.

Stop being so dramatic, you're a grown man, he scolded himself.

He took a ragged breath, before picking up the shovel, burying the ghastly secret underneath layers of dark, concealing soil. The arcane, crazy paths he'd walked with her... A grim smiled marred his features. Oh, Dorea... She'd been one of a kind. But the past was over and he wouldn't dwell in it any longer.  

He grasped the shovel and as a dark figure, he inched his way back into the of the shadows of the Forest, before disappearing with a gentle 'pop'. 

No one would ever know.  

Apart from them. They would always know. They would always remember.