{"id":1935,"date":"2019-08-15T19:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T19:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/?p=1935"},"modified":"2022-10-26T14:08:20","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T14:08:20","slug":"a-d-k-flash-tales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/a-d-k-flash-tales\/","title":{"rendered":"A Desperate Kiss"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Stanley<\/span><\/p>\n

L<\/span>ike the night before, my trip into town had found me at the tavern. Also like the night before, I had more ale than food. How I managed, in such a state, to walk the miles home through the dark and twisting forest, is something I can\u2019t say.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps I needed the chill night air to sober me. The drink I needed to quench the smoldering anger, of a jealous fire within me. It worked for a time, numbing me to my shameful sense of failure and allowing me to pretend that I didn\u2019t care. But it dawned on me eventually how out of place I was among the married men and happy couples around.<\/span><\/p>\n

I believed it all would pass, that my heart would mend. If I stayed the course, undaunted by the anguish, then I would become the man that I was not. What could come from misery so conquered, if not the wisdom to appreciate whatever joy I might find later in life?<\/span><\/p>\n

Beneath my feet, the trail lost its double and became somewhat familiar. I looked ahead and saw the roof of the barn where I slept. I thought of the soft heap of hay I would climb into and I pledged to sleep for a hundred years if not forevermore. But this simple plan could not withstand the memory of her smiling face and laughing eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those wondrous eyes had once looked on me with love and in those times, I believed in magic. I could see it in the sweetness of her features, an invisible light that made the whole world beautiful. Every sky was a painting made from heaven, every tree, every rock a priceless sculpture, and when the light of her shining eyes fell on me, I knew what it was to truly love, to live. How simple and right it had all seemed.<\/span><\/p>\n

But with a terrible speed all of it had changed. She no longer laughed or smiled for me. She pulled away when I tried to take her hand in mine. She would not tell me, at first, what it was that troubled her, and I, a trusting fool, knew nothing else to do but grant her time. But in truth, I knew what was wrong, and it was me.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was a common man, a poor man. Until this time that had meant little, for all men in our town were poor. Still, I was young and able-bodied so I was not without some prospects. It was the arrival of a wealthy bachelor that placed those prospects as near to nothing as could be. Within a few months, he had bought most of the farmland and began construction on a grand house overlooking the town.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the better families courted his favor, offering their daughters as brides. As fate would have it, he chose the woman I loved, and she chose him over me. I tried to move on, but this humiliation lingered. It haunted my quiet moments, tormenting me with memories of happiness and love, constantly reminding me of what had been lost forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was her face I saw when I closed my eyes. And when her voice called out through the darkness, I could scarcely believe it was real.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the dark, I sat holding my breath and cursing my heart for pounding so loudly in my ears. The aching silence compelled me, in a voice almost too timid to be heard, to call back to her. Again, the silence surrounded me, but my heart screamed out into the night with neither word nor sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

And to a joy so sharp that it pained me, I heard again, like faint and distant music, the voice of the only woman I will ever love. I was overwhelmed in the moment, thinking nothing of the oddness of the situation. With some effort, I lifted myself and stumbled toward the door.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throwing it open, I gazed on an earth bathed in golden moonlight. My heart, lifted high by hope, came crashing down as my desperate eyes searched in vain. I saw no one and nothing. Yet, I was certain she was there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMad,\u201d I whispered to myself, \u201cI have taken leave of my senses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despair and rage swelled within me until I trembled. Tears blurred the scene before me, and I clutched my head while choking on a wail of misery.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInvisible light,\u201d I whispered, wishing for the impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInvisible light.\u201d she whispered back.<\/span><\/p>\n

As my hands slowly dropped from my eyes, I saw her standing there. She glowed with a radiance that put to shame even the full moon above. She was even more beautiful than I remembered and I shut my eyes and shook my head, unable to believe she was real. But she remained when I looked again, though she stood closer now, just beyond my reach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHelp me,\u201d she begged, and the sound of the pain in her words moved me in ways my own could not. But before I could say anything or even step toward her, she continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDeath has come to me tonight. In the form of a terrible hag, she stood over me and claimed the life of my child, even as he was born.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I had no words. All I could do was reach out to take her hand in mine. This time she did not pull away.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a fool I have been.\u201d she sighed, her eyes cast down, \u201cI have ruined things for us. I\u2019m so sorry\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no,\u201d I tried, certain the fault was mine, that I had failed her and myself in being no more than I was. She would have none of it, though, and she stepped in. The closeness of her body woke every nerve in me and held me paralyzed, transfixed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI offered him the best years of my life, and why? His are already all but behind him. I should have stayed with you, you so young, so warm, so alive\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her hand, tniy, gentle, delicate, brushed across my chest until the open palm rested on my heart. A soft gasp escaped her lips as though the rare and priceless gift of life had made its splendor known.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWill you come with me, my love? Can you forgive me?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In truth, there had been times when I hated her. In weak moments, I had cursed her. Her rejection had been not only a condemnation from the one I loved more than life, it had been a denouncement from life itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

But with her before me, I felt no more anger. My pain meant nothing, all I wanted was to make her happy, to ease her suffering. My words were unnecessary, she knew the answer having drawn it from my very heart itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

I did not care that she was married. I had no concern for what the hateful gossips would say. Even of the God who presumed providence over their union, I cared nothing. All that mattered was the meeting of two hearts that were meant for each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her arms wound themselves around me and mine around her. She was cold and I clutched her closer to me, trying to warm her from the night. Her cheek against my jaw felt like ice but I had no time to ponder this as she turned her face up to me and her cold lips met mine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such a desperate kiss, I have never known. I tasted her kiss, so sweet and yet so strong. Her grip tightened, her nails dug into me, I did not care. To hold her, to kiss her, and in this simple act, to become one with her\u2026 This was all I cared for.<\/span><\/p>\n

I did not even care when I tasted blood.<\/span><\/p>\n

I heard the ripping of cloth as her nails cut into my flesh. My body now fought to escape, but it was too late. She held me with the arms of a statue, as if her body was made of steel. My head turned and I gasped for air, exposing my neck to her hungry fangs.<\/span><\/p>\n

The world disappeared in two blazing points of pain. Agony surged with each pulse of my racing heart. I could feel my life escaping, blazing in the fire of her love. Steadily, the beats slowed.<\/span><\/p>\n

I fell into darkness…<\/span><\/p>\n

And into eternal love.<\/span><\/p>\n

-end-<\/span><\/p>\n

back to previous episode<\/a><\/p>\n

forward to next episode<\/a><\/p>\n

back to list of stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Stanley Like the night before, my trip into town had found me at the tavern. Also like the night before, I had more ale than food. How I managed, in such a state, to walk the miles home through the dark and twisting forest, is something I can\u2019t say. Perhaps I needed the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[203,8],"class_list":["post-1935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-joe-stanley","tag-a-desperate-kiss","tag-joe-stanley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1935"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2940,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935\/revisions\/2940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonathanharker.co.uk\/theghostlyworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}