Paradise – Love Short Story
Paradise – Short Love Story
Photo credit: Oleander from morguefile.com
Grace
I stare into darkness. The world seems too tempting, but my whole body is in opposition to it. Without air, I can possibly survive, but without him, I can’t. It isn’t a realization, it is the truth. I find myself falling asleep, in the pool of tears I’ve created. The scenario in my mind shifts. I start dreaming.
Jamie
Grace starts to scream. Again. I get up from my bed and go to check on her. She is crying. Hard. It has been over a month since he went, but Grace isn’t showing any signs of improvement. I wake her up, and sit by her until she slips into oblivion again. And then I go, knowing well I will have to return.
David
It is 36 days since I saw Grace last. I start to regret my decisions. But I know they are the best decisions I’ve ever made. Leaving her to die-alone-isn’t exactly what I’d planned, but fate has its own way. I hear a scream, much like Grace’s, though that is impossible. Grace is continents away from me. But I know Grace is screaming. She will, until she sleeps forever.
Grace
It’s morning. I get up to find my clothes all torn and my face all salty. Again. This is getting out of control. There’s no way hurting myself is going to help. I decide to act. To find my better self. To find him.
Jamie
Grace is gone. In the morning, I go to wake her, and find only a note, which says, “I’m going to find him. Do not notify anyone. Do not come after me.” -Grace It is the most foolish thing. David left her because he needs-he wants-to escape. He wants Grace to die. I don’t inform anyone. I stay home, letting my own daughter go into her death trap.
David
I get an email from Grace’s mother, saying Grace is gone to find me! She can’t of course since she doesn’t have the slightest idea of my whereabouts. But I hope she finds me. It’s getting hard to live without her. Perhaps I made the wrong decisions. Perhaps I was the one who needs to die.
Grace
I stare into darkness. I’m dead for sure, I think. The snow falls on me, and I feel my body going numb under it. I’m in a place I know nothing about. Not even its name. I’m terrified. Perhaps I made the wrong decision. Perhaps I should have just stayed home.
Jamie
No sign of grace, or her death. I start to worry, but tell myself it doesn’t matter. She will be dead anyway.
David
I decide to sacrifice myself. I go to the WhitePalace. They are surprised to see me, instead of Grace. I tell them love has got the best of me. They are happy. Somewhere in my mind, I know Grace is already dead. But what does it matter? My mind travels back-
The King of WhitePalace gazing at us with that hunger in his horrific eyes. Grace—as innocent as a newborn—standing there, accepting his fake hospitality. The king’s explanations of not letting us go, until one of us is dead. He and his queen—mystical creatures who feed on humans—will be dead soon, if we decide to escape. We will be dead. The king giving me a choice—me or Grace. Who was the one I’m giving? My cruel decision—Grace. My leaving her….
It’s too much. I feel my body going numb, I feel myself collapsing. My last thought,
Grace, I’ll meet you in paradise.
Jamie
The newspaper announces two deaths. Grace and David. The former was found frozen—dead—on a bench in the city park. The latter’s body—they say—was found in South America. No body, no blood— just skin.
Grace and David, I hope, will meet each other, at last, in paradise.
