Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
She feels the sea, salty like the tears that run down her face. The sand pours around her with the tide and pulls her deeper into its grasp with every stolen wave. The gulls flutter overhead chanting tales of a deadman's venture oblivious to the cries that torment her heart. She holds her hands out to watch the water run over them, hoping that one day they'll erase the crimson stains under her nails.
"It'll never go away, you know," his voice doesn't so much as cause her to look anymore. It was familiar and unwelcome all the same, yet still her heart filled with dread. "You can't erase what you've done that easily. There's no way out."
Slowly she gets up, dusts herself off, useless as the wet sand clings to her sides and intertwines into knotted clumps in her hair. "Don't you think I know that?" She closes her eyes as she turns around to block him out. She brings her hands to her ears but his voice is sharp and crisp in her mind nonetheless. With a start she runs, not caring what's in front of her as her feet make contact with solid ground off the beach. Rocks dig into her feet and sharp pains shoot up her legs, screaming almost as loud as she is. She trips over something hard and new pain flutters through her chest as she lays in a crumpled heap on the gravelly ground. Her eyes open with a panicked alarm, seeing the world through rudimentary understanding as synesthetic sounds and colors blur together and her lover stands over her, her throat in his hands.
"You didn't think it would come to this? After what you did? How could you have let me die, Abline! You left me without a second thought!" His hands were gripping - suffocating. She screams but no sound escapes her horror struck lips.
____________________________________
"Abline," he holds his hysterical wife in his arms, used to the slight burn of the tears that well up behind his eyes by now. She screams and kicks out, fists striking demons only she can see. He holds her arms down, trying to ignore the blood that runs from her broken feet as he coddles her. "Shhhh, it'll be okay," though he knows he doesn't believe it himself. "Everything will be just fine. Don't you worry." Her body laxes and her muffled screams weaken until she lies limp in his arms, staring into the void as he lifts her up to his chest. Her breath is warm and yet her body feels lice ice against him.
A breeze started to blow over the desolate moor and the far off cry of a shepherd's dogs could be heard baying somewhere in the distance. His hand felt it's way to the back of her head, tucking it protectively into the crook of his arm.
"Almost there, my love," he whispers into her ear as he treks the steep hill into their small cottage. He pushes against the door, opening it easily. Gently still he sets her down on their bed, the fading light of the day trickling in through the only window in the house. He gets up and lights the firepit to draw water to a boil, trying to let his movements follow the steady fluidity of the last year. Automatic, without hesitation, fixed and set. Every day the sun rose and set all the same, each breath nothing but a marker until the last gasp before death's gentle kiss. He looks to his frozen wife as she stares out the East window towards the sea. It takes everything he has to ignore the silent terror that has taken a home in once vibrant eyes.
