There I was, waiting by the altar at the church. There was no one else inside. I couldn’t fathom why she hadn’t come.
Why? That’s the question that kept my head turning. I couldn’t think of a reason for her to do this. We had been together for so long. She had basically cried out “yes” when I had asked her to be my bride.
I knew that she, alike myself, wanted to have children, to have a family. We had always been very lonely, but I knew the loneliness would melt away every time we embraced.
I really didn’t understand. She had even shown me her finished vows. I remember her shy, and very sweet, smile when she looked at me wondering if I had liked them. I really did. Her vows were so perfect, so pure and honest, that I almost broke into tears when I read them. I can still feel her wet lips from the loving kiss she had given me afterwards.
Broken, I left the church to head down to our house,. To my surprise, when I got there, I found a note nailed to the door.
I instantly knew it was from Abbie, from my beloved. I suddenly felt filled with hope. I read the note word by word, letter by letter, searching for the reason of why she had not come.
The letter read thus:
“Hello Charles,
I’m sorry about not coming, but I panicked. I hope that you can forgive me, and eventually, trust me again. I spent the whole evening thinking about this, and I’ve decided that I’m not ready. I love you. I really do, but I need some more time to think about this. If you understand, if you’d please forgive me, I’ll be at our special place.
With love, Abbie.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Though she had hurt me gravely, I still loved her. It killed me to admit it, but I understood perfectly. I wasn’t angry at her; it just pained me that she hadn’t talked to me about this.
I decided to go down to the river, to pay her a visit so that we could talk. This was not just any river though. It was fed by a waterfall with water so clear and pure that it looked like liquid light. At the base of the waterfall there was a series of rocks that transformed the base of the waterfall into a magnificent pool. Once out of the pool, the water ran down through the river’s bed and into a glorious valley. The valley was very small, tiny really. It was closely surrounded by incredibly green mountains. These mountains were impassable, not only because of the dense and beautiful forest, but because they also had a lot of hidden cliffs.
There is a legend that says that at night, when no one is looking, all the centaurs the river trolls and even the fairies come out, shamefully, as beautiful as seeing this would be, we can only imagine it.
I was able to see her once I arrived at the river. She was lying down, clothed in the purest white. Her skirt was made of the most beautiful silk. It was a very special skirt; though it was pretty short it managed to remain elegant. Her bodice could have been made by the best tailor in the land. It had long sleeves, which were embroidered with elegant decorations. That wasn’t the only beautiful detail about it though. It had a beautiful flower embroidered onto the front side of the bodice. She wore and onyx bracelet on her left hand, a bracelet that she had inherited from her father.
I headed towards her, a shy smile on my face while I made my way through the white stones that made a passage to the pool at the base of the waterfall. I could see Abbie looking at the pool; a sad expression was set on the gorgeous face. I took her hand in mine and kissed it. It felt cold. I took a closer look at her eyes, they were looking at the base of the waterfall, yet, they didn’t seem to be able to see it.
A flash of panic crushed my heart. I had been so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I had not actually observed her. I felt something die inside me when I started realizing the truth. She was unblinking. Cold as the air around us. Her chest did no longer rise with her breathing. She was no longer alive.
I was shocked. It made no sense. She was so healthy. In the seven years we had been together she had gotten sick but a couple of times. My eyes were cloudy with tears. My breath was uneven. Something inside my chest was falling into pieces. Never had I felt such pain, it was unbearable. I felt as one tear fell down my face. I followed the tear with what sight I had. I watched as it landed on her cheek and slowly made her way down to her lips.
Her lips were almost as beautiful as ever. All I could think about was kissing them one last time. And so I did. As soon as I did it though, something strange happened. Pain coursed through my body, I tried to move away but I couldn’t. Everything started to turn pitch black, and soon, my sight was completely gone, along with my consciousness.
It was already deep into the night by the time I woke up. What had happened was obvious, while waiting for me she must have eaten some fruit she picked up from somewhere nearby, a fruit which poisoned her. Though the fruit was lethal when eaten, it would only knock you out for a few hours if you absorbed it indirectly.
Though I am alive, I am not grateful. I have no desire to live on without Abbie. I had lived for her, and everything around my life circled around what she had been for me. Even my future I had already planned with her. I write these lasts words, knowing that I intend to end my life by consumption of that poisonous fruit, so that I may rejoin my beloved once more.