I’ve been writing some chapters for something new in my free time. Here’s a quick summary of something idk if I’ll ever actually publish
she was madly in love. and he was a ghost. no more calls, texts, or letters. no one to talk to but the ghost in the phone. the pictures and videos were just a shell. they created a false image. she remembered his voice, though it was fading and shifting every passing day. his face was almost unrecognizable in the pictures on the walls. she needed more, needed him to be real, though that would never be. he died three years ago and she was still haunted by it.
he was brave. or maybe he was scared. no one really knew. he was shot, carved, beaten, bloodied, and bruised. completely unrecognizable in some ways, though he was still him. it was a miracle they let him keep that necklace. maybe their one shred of humanity before they carved another gouge into his back. he remembers the letter that they read to him when he was declared dead by his rescue team. remembers the day they tried to suffocate him with the very necklace that saved his life. if only he had listened to her and taken the dog tags when she said to. maybe he wouldn’t be in this mess.
if only she had locked her window. if only she hadn’t screamed that night. if only she had accepted the invitation to drinks with her friends. if only the flower delivery man was really honest about who he was.
if only he came home sooner. if only he had gotten up the courage a few months earlier. if only he couldn’t see the wreckage in the camera and hear her screams on that tape.