VOLUME XV: Shattered Heart ~ Where Evil Sleeps Collection ~ "Empty Words"

You promised to love me, comfort me, honor and keep me… in sadness and in joy. Empty words… you have forsaken me…

The water, the rocks, it’s beautiful isn’t it? An ocean that never runs dry, waves that never sleep, it was the last beautiful memory I took with me to the afterlife.

Where should I begin? Should I tell you about the first time we met and how he made me a believer of love and happiness? Or, should I tell you about how I came to be by your side as a translucent soul? Take my hand, dear, and I will show you… no, offer you a chance to experience my joy and sadness.

We were a perfect couple and we had a perfect wedding. I was excited and yet nervous as I walked down the long crimson aisle to the altar. He waited for me with a smile so warm it melted my heart a hundred times over. Deeper and deeper, I sunk, like in quick sand and thick bog. Trapped I was, but I didn’t mind. I never wanted to leave.

I gave love a chance to take me away and devour me. I allowed him to take my heart and keep it. That day, he took my whole heart and promised me he would love me, comfort me, honor and keep me… in sadness and in joy. Without a doubt, I believed him. I drank in his promise like an alcoholic. It made me lightheaded and dizzy.

We exchanged our rings vowing to love one another til death. I held his hands and he held mine. We were the perfect couple and we had the perfect wedding. I could feel his warm breathe on my cheek as we closed the gap between us. Our noses brushed. I could smell his cologne. It was light, the elusive fragrance mingled with the scent of the white roses in my hand. A heartbeat later, his gentle lips found its way to mine and we kissed. At the taste of his lips, I shattered into a million pieces. The people, the church, and the day were all forgotten. It was as if time had stopped for us.

Would you like to hear about the house he bought for me by the ocean? It was an enchanting structure abandoned by its previous owner. I couldn’t figure out why anyone would abandon it. The house was beautiful like the ocean beside it, mysterious and deep. He clasped my hand and led me inside. Still barefoot from the visit to the wet rocks, I followed him to the second floor where a bare light bulb on a chipped ceiling illuminated a room lined with elegant wallpaper. It was vacant except for an empty trunk lying near the gable window. He left me there all alone, promising he would be back for me before nightfall. I believed him, of course. There was nothing to do while waiting for my lover’s return. The only object in the room was the trunk near the window. It was big enough to hold a person like me. Hours passed with no sign of him. I didn’t like the chilly feeling of being alone. Every creaking noise made me jump. Every rustling sound sent a shiver up my spine. It was as if the house was warning me, trying to scare me away.

I left without hesitation. Hours and hours passed with no sign of him. I stood among the ocean-washed rocks and watched the sun sink lower and lower into the horizon. Gentle waves rolled up and kissed my feet. Strong winds caressed and whipped my hair across my face.

I shuddered at the cold touch. Muffled, the sound was distant but I could hear his voice. My love had come back for me. Sure enough, he came. And he shot me in the head.

The wind howled in anger and the waves crashed agonizingly onto the blood stained rocks. The ocean tried to take me away from him. But its efforts were in vain. Perhaps, he still loved me. The waves tried to snatch me away again, but he held on to my lifeless corpse and dragged me all the way to the house. It was the house he bought for me by the ocean. Sharp rocks ripped through my skin like the teeth of a hungry beast. My body was cut and bruised. He dragged me by my long black hair in to the house and up the flight of stairs. Blood poured out of my wound leaving a trail of red, a crimson aisle. He threw my body into the room with the gable window. I was going to rest there for an eternity in my own house by the ocean. He stuffed me carelessly into the empty trunk and left me all alone in that very same room for the second time.

Perhaps he still loved me. I still loved him.

He wanted my fortune all to himself. I would have given it to him freely.

He had another lover and I was in his way. I would have continued living in ignorance because you see, I had already given up my heart.

You might believe I was weak to think the way I did but you cannot possibly understand how long I have drowned in his vast ocean and how deep I had sunk in his dark pit. Like from the bottom of a well, that tiny speck of light I could not reach. The world kept me here so I could take my revenge but I would not. My heart belonged to him and so, I wander in the night watching lovers take romantic strolls on the beach knowing that one day, they will die like the rest.

You know, sometimes I think perhaps this was what the house tried to warn me about. Perhaps I could have saved myself but in the end I never wanted to be saved. I was trapped but I didn’t mind.

Enough memories. Will you take a walk with me down to the ocean side? Here, take my hand and don’t let go.