This is a (Fiction, Thriller, Dark Fiction, Short Stories)
I woke drenched in sweat, my heart racing from the terrors of my dream. I rolled onto my side and reached out for his reassuring embrace, only to feel the cold emptiness that had become all too familiar since he was no longer there. Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision as a reminder of what once used to be. I remembered how he used to whisper softly into my ear words of comfort, how his tender embrace would protect me from all the horrors of the night. But all those moments were gone, taking away with them my savior and the one who always willed me on to keep fighting. I lay in the still darkness, unable to move, my eyes glued to the moonlight spilling through the curtains of my bedroom window. I had been empty since he left me three days ago. My stomach churned with hunger, but I hadn’t had the will to eat a single bite since that day. I wanted nothing more than to die. As I lay curled into a fetal position, embracing the pain in my core, the sound coming from outside my window grew louder and more insistent. It stirred something deep within me — neither fear nor relief, just an indecision that paralyzed me on my bed. To me, the outside world was so far away, like a distant dream I no longer wanted to explore. I could barely care enough to protect myself from it anymore. The noise, now an insistent pounding on the outside of my window, was like a battle cry demanding attention. Soon, the evil energy outside had grown angry about being ignored, I assumed, banging against the walls of my home like a battering ram. I could feel the malicious force penetrate my veins, but this time, it failed to paralyze me with fear; I refused to acknowledge its presence. I felt numb and resigned to whatever fate had befallen me, not enough energy or care to even summon a whimper of fear. The sound became louder, a cacophony of metal clashing against metal like a beast beating down my wall, trying to breach the boundaries that held me safe from its reach. And through it all, I remained motionless, lost in a trance-like state, wishing for the beast to enter and end my misery. Amidst the roars, thumps, and howls of chaos around me, I found a moment of solace in the gaze of my love. Like a film playing through my mind, his spectral figure of memories washed over me as his body materialized next to me. A blessing from above that had come to me when I needed him most, more than 15 years ago, and now again, he had bestowed upon me this one last moment. Face to face, we lay looking into each other’s eyes — a ritual we performed every day before beginning our routine. His delicate skin was pale and transparent now, and the thought of his once warm embrace only worsened the aching in my heart. The once divine eyes full of life and hope were now glazed-over beacons of death that peered down on me with what I could only imagine was disapproval. Hot tears cascaded down my cheeks as I stretched out my arm to take his hand, yet all I felt was the coldness of the bedding beneath me. My eyelids grew heavy as I tried to soak in this moment with him, knowing that our time together was fleeting. The outside world seemed to become more and more chaotic as the beast started to tear down every blockade between us. Despite the chaos around me, my heart was firmly in place, connected deeply with the only part of this dark world that mattered to me. Even when the last traces of his presence faded away, my gaze never left that spot where he had last held me close. My soul ached for even a second with him, wishing desperately to hear his voice if I could not feel his embrace. As I willingly lost my grasp of reality and started to pass into a deep slumber, I could make out the beast beginning to break in. Its now familiar presence seemed almost comforting compared to what had just transpired before me. Yet even that small glimmer of happiness of knowing it would all end soon, I was consumed by an ever-growing wave of emptiness as it reached into my chest and squeezed. With one last deep inhale from within my soul, it felt like all time stopped — and for as long as possible, I continued staring at the spot where my love had once been until there was nothing left but darkness. But in that darkness, I questioned if I’d finally find peace. . . . . .
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