Short stories

When the Sky Cries

Clayn woke up to the sound of Dante saddling up their horses. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, a yawn escaping her mouth.

"Come on Clay, we must leave before the farmer comes in here with his ax and his bovine intentions" Dante whispers, walking over to her before placing a kiss on her head.

She stands, stretching her limbs before walking over to her horse, Sky, who happily chews on some nearby hay. Clayn thinks of Dante's words, to which she thought of as a caveat, after their carnal encounter the previous night.

Sky nudges her shoulder, pushing her into the direction of the barn's slightly opened doors. She twists Sky's reins in her hand and leads her to the doors, taking a slight pause to let out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding.

The doors move with ease and her breath is taken away once again by the bucolic fields that hugged the mountains on all sides. As the light clouds whisper secrets to one another and the sweet breezes dance with the leaves that strayed from their mothers, a cold feeling drenches her. Straining her eyes further into the pasture, she lets go of the horse's reins and her legs move with urgency.

A lump of carrion sits up against the tree, its body attracting flies. Bile rises up her throat and she turns quickly, blinding her eyes away from the sight. She runs back to the barn, pulling Sky with her inside.

" I thought you had run off" Dante says, lighting a cigarette.

"Why?" she answers back quietly.

"Because I know that you know that I would try to cajole you into more exciting experiences." he answers back releasing carcinogen.

A small laugh attempts to crawl its way out to be heard at his bombastic language but she swallows it knowing the future result.

Dante is what some might think of as a boor but having knowing his dangerous past of murderous actions, she knows better than to play him...or escape him. He hands her a package, to which she knows he stole and opens it. Her eyes widen at the cover of the box and traces the wording of I Love You with a light touch. What kind of joke is this? A bona fide one it seems. Dante, who had grown impatient, lifts the lid to reveal the leather cover of a book.

"Open it tonight" he whispers in her ear, sending cold air down her arms and back. He wraps his arms around her front and pulls her into him, her back against his front. They stay that way for a brevity before he pulls away, walking back to the horses.

~ ~ ~

They pull their horses into the new meadow and slide off. Dark clouds roll over, yelling at the earth who begs for forgiveness.

Clayn pulls out the leather book and opens it to the first page. A torn off page of a book falls into her lap and she hesitates before picking it up.

It had clearly been bowdlerized, only leaving one phrase visible: YOUR OUT OF TIME.

It takes her a moment for her callowed mind to properly understand the significance of this phrase.

Dante comes back, wood piled in his arms, clearly unaware of the sky holding back her tears. Clayn looks into his eyes noticing the blank look in his brown eyes.

" Dante what does this mean?" she asks, terror lacing itself with needle and thread into her delicate voice. He looks at her with the mid frame of starting a cataclysm since she was a duchess before she ran away to be with him.

"Trust me." is all he says, drawing a knife from his back pocket.

"For Bella" he whispers before advancing towards Clayn, now with a purpose. He reaches towards her neck with the point guiding the way but suddenly his body feels limp and he falls in an awkward angle, the life fluttering away from his body.

Rain starts to pour as Clayn kneels, the fresh tears of the sky mixing with her salty ones. It comes down harder until it's the sound of a cataract or multiple.

Sky gallops towards Clayn and nudges her head, as she wails and screams for her demonic lover.

THE END