Life was so dark, so cold. Life, it seemed so hopeless. It was like nothing mattered anymore.
Nothing at all.
He was so close to edge of loosing his sanity. Hardly anything seemed real anymore. It was just some sick nightmare. He couldn't understand why the fates were so cruel to him, why they would just snatch his happiness right from under him. It seems he just didn't have a tight enough grip.
"You just have to accept it." They said. "There's nothing you can do to change it." They said.
He refused to accept anything. Help, sympathy, or even a trip to the asylum. So there he sat, at his piano, day in and day out. Some days not moving an inch.
"Roderich, please! You must eat, you will get ill." They said. "You are such a foolish man!"
His name was Roderich Edelstein. He was considered such a genius, yet so foolish at the same time. Everyone believed he was taking his current situation to the extreme. Everyone thought he was practically insane, that it was just a matter of time before this man just..slipped right off the edge. Everyone thought he should be put away.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with me! Why does everyone think so? It's simply preposterous!" Roderich questioned himself over and over. 'They just don't understand.' He thought to himself. 'They understand nothing at all'
Truth be told, Roderich was grieving. Well, that's what everyone else thought. Grieving to the extreme. He had lost his love, his companion, everything that was near and dear to him. Not even Roderich's beloved piano meant anything anymore. It didn't mean anything without him there, without, him, there was no one to play for.
"Where have you gone? You left me all alone. I miss you so, Gilbert."
Gilbert, that was his name. Roderich's everything, the reason he wanted to rise out of bed each morning, the reason he would compose such masterpieces, it was all for him. However, one day Gilbert just simply disappeared. He was gone for days. Roderich grew considerably worried and called the authorities and a search party was set up. A week or so passed, and the search party called Roderich informing him that they had found Gilbert. They had found his body, but not his soul. Gilbert's soul was gone.
This was something Roderich would not come to terms with. With each passing day he seemed to look slightly more ill than the day before. The nights were dreamless, the days were cold. Roderich felt guilty. Guilty for breathing without him, guilty for showing emotion, guilty for playing and trying to create music. Gilbert was not here, so in Roderich's mind he should not be doing any of those things. He mustn't do anything without Gilbert. Gilbert loved Roderich's music, Gilbert loved to show emotion, love, lust, happiness. Gilbert even loved listening to Roderich's shallow breaths while he slept. So, Roderich did nothing, he did nothing because he was waiting for him. But, he never came home.
So, time ticked on and on, it never stopped. Gilbert never returned, and Roderich never went back to his normal routine. Instead, he made a new one the consisted of constant denial and self-conflicted illness. Roderich Edelstein hardly ate, was abnormally clumsy, and strands of his silky brown hair began to fall out in tufts.
The day came to put Gilbert to rest. Everyone hoped that this day, as saddening as it was, would snap Roderich out of his senses. He hadn't seen Gilbert since the night he went missing. He hadn't seen the sight of a soulless body. But, this would be that day, and day one wishes never to see. Roderich dressed in an suit of all black, his eyes shining through the darkness. His eyes were filled with sadness mixed with anxiety, and above all, denial.
Roderich arrived to the spot were Gilbert lay, his eyes closed and his hands neatly folded. He looked at his love just simply laying there, still and silent. For the slightest moment Roderich was consumed in silent bliss. Just seeing Gilbert's face once again caused a flood of precious memories to flow to the forefront of his mind. They were such happy times. Times filled with such powerful bliss. However, that slight moment passed, and reality came and hushed those memories away. Just as everyone hoped, a realization hit Roderich. It was strong, like a tidal wave of emotion. A wave of emotion that swept away every speck of that short-lived bliss.
"Gilbert." Roderich breathed, looking down at the soundless man. "You know, I-" At this point he began to stutter, struggling to speak. "I, I made red velvet cake, but I added too much flour. That's unfortunate, isn't it? It... It was for you." Roderich finished his sentence with tears streaming down his porcelain-like face. The reality was so crystal clear. It was like a cruel transparent wall that keep the two apart.
The grieving aristocrat laid the most beautiful flower onto Gilbert, giving on small smile of sadness. "Here's a flower, for you instead.. It's your favorite Gilbert, don't you..." By this time Roderich couldn't contain himself, and was on the verge of becoming hysterical. He could hear his own wretched sobs, something completely foreign to his ear. "Don't you like it? There's no way it can make up for your love for cake.. but.." He took a deep breath. "I love you."
These were the last words Roderich spoke before collapsing onto the hard, marble floor, temporarily falling into deep abyss.
Later on, they lowered Gilbert's resting body into the ground, adding a small marker or stone signifying that's was were he was, and that was were he would be. A spot lay open beside him, empty. Months afterward, Roderich came to this spot, with that same beautiful flower in hand. This time, he was not hysterical, but calm and collected, just as he used to be. He walked up to the small marker with Gilbert's name engraved on it, sitting down.
"Hello Gilbert. I have your favorite flower. They bloomed this month with the most vibrant colors. It was such a beautiful sight." Roderich gave a small smile, laying the flower down.
"You didn't forget me, did you?" Roderich chuckled at his words. "Of course not, I know you remember me. I never forgot you." The only sound was the wind rustling through the trees as the words on the small stone stared intently at the man.
"Our love, it is so powerful, it will see us through this. You're not alone, you never will be." Roderich's eyes began to fuzz, filling with salty liquid.
"All I ever wanted was to be like you. Nothing's changed. Even though you're in this state, I still long for that, my darling." Roderich took off his glasses, wiping them dry, and returning them to them to his countenance so he could see properly. He looked down at his glove covered hands.
"I just want you to know, I am no longer grieving like I once was." Roderich continued. "All I want is to lie in the cool ground, lie there like you. Lie there beside you, we'll be together, forevermore. And, forevermore will be our bliss. It will never dim nor fade, as long as I'm with you, as long as I'm like you." He looked straight at the words printed in the stone.
"And that's why I'm coming for you."