The Backroom and Other Short Horror Stories

Valley of Sorrow

Nothing but a valley of lavender, dandelions and grass, topped with pine trees and mountains in the back, surrounded me. The sky was a beautiful shade of purple and pink, almost as if an artist painted the sky with love. Something someone like me could never feel for myself. Even this breathtaking sight did not amuse me the slightest.

I took in a deep breath, relieving myself with the fresh air imitating from the trees. My lungs burned a little, but it was better than the poisonous city air I've stood in for my whole life.

"Does it hurt," he asked. He was my so-called boyfriend, who annoyingly stuck with me through and through. Since he was a boy and I was a girl, word quickly traveled through school that we were dating when all we did was say hi to each other. I went along with it, but he seems to believe everything everyone tells him.

"A little," I replied back. "But it's a good sort of pain. Better than... home's." I took another deep breath. Again, a little pain in the lungs, but nothing too bad.

I felt something wrap around my waist a little tightly. He was wrapping his arms around me in a peculiar way. One that made him kneel on the ground with his knees, with his head resting against my back.

"What are you doing," I asked, slightly more annoyed.

He didn't answer back. I continued staring at the valley.

Over time, he said softly, "I know it hurts. I want to be there to take all the pain away from you."

I stared at the thin dirt path in front of us. I didn't know where it lead to - all I knew was that it lead deeper into the valley.

"You can't," I said back. "You can't take away something that is internal. My breathing can be taken away, but not by the likes of a human."

"I know. I know, but I can't help but say it. I wish I could save you. I love you."

I didn't say anything after that. 

A small breeze ruffled my hair, and I took notice in a mountain ahead of me. The sky and the mountains reminded me of a vaporwave edit, an aesthetic I was never really into. But for some reason, seeing this scene gave the word "vaporwave" a whole new meaning.

Suddenly, my chest got tight, and my throat felt like it was burning. Before I knew it, I coughed up a ton of blood, the red liquid splattering all over the dirt path and grass nearby.

He screeched my name and lifted me into his arms as I fell weakly. I laid in his arms like a knight about to kiss a sleeping princess. It felt very awkward, but I was far too weak to move.

"We need to get to a hospital," he said, frantically searching for another person. But, to his dismay, we were the only ones here.

"No," I sputtered, blood oozing out of my mouth. It took all of my strength to try not to cough anymore. I knew fashion was something he got into, so ruining his favorite jean jacket would be a stupid decision.

"What? But-"

"No."

I coughed, blood splattering my shirt and the dirt path. Luckily, I moved my head in time so it wouldn't get anywhere on him.

"But you need to see a doctor right away! If you don't, you... you will..." He bit his tongue, preventing himself from saying the unholy word "die." I felt his hands tear into my back, and I saw the tears forming in his eyes. 

I refuse to go to such a place anymore. I hate going to the same old place for the same old thing. 

I'd rather be done with it.

My head turned to the valley. From this low viewpoint, I could only see the tips of the mountains and trees. Everywhere else was clouded with grass and lavender and dandelions.

Maybe it impressed me a little.

"If this is what you want," he whispered to me, tears falling out of his eyes now. "I have no reason to go against it. I love you."

And for the first time in my withering life, I said back to him: "I love you too."