THE THIRD TIME
Victor woke up in the middle of the night again. It was one of his nightmares. Lately they happened more often. Victoria was asleep next to him. He looked at her pale face. She was beautiful. And she loved him. He should be happy. They had finally gotten married after a lot of trouble and their life seemed to be getting back to normal. At least the dead were not walking on the earth any more.
Yet somehow he was not quite satisfied with his life. He would turn around some times because he thought someone was behind him. Someone he wanted to see again so much he would not even confess to himself. He missed her laugh, her voice, the way she moved like she was floating on air.
But she was gone now. Last time he saw her she broke in a thousand butterflies under the moonlight. And it all happened so fast. He never got the chance to stop her, to tell her to stay. And there was Victoria too. She was alive of course and it was exactly what had blinded him. The living should be with the living and the dead with the dead. All those rules. The had seemed so logical in the past but he hated them now.
His heart had so much pain, hidden carefully from his wife. On nights like this one he wished he could die. But he never found the power to do it. Once more he closed his eyes with her name in his lips. Emily.
…………
Somewhere in the land of the dead Lord Barkis was ready for his revenge. Just when his plan seemed to be working everything was destroyed. Instead of getting rich and leaving with Victoria's money he ended up dead and had to hide from everyone else. Eternity was treating him horribly. And it was all Emily's fault. But her friends could not protect her forever. He'd get his revenge.
…………
When Victoria woke up Victor was still dreaming. She sighed. Yet again the name he was whispering was not hers. She was unsure if she'd ever accept it but she would not mention it. It was too humiliating. Maybe the whole thing with Victor was a big mistake. Then again she didn't have a choice back then. It was her parents' decision in the first place and she'd thought she'd be free with him. She'd thought he was perfect for her.
Her day usually passed with her playing the piano. She tried hard. She wanted to make Victor proud of her. But Victor did not play any more. He didn't even look at it. So she had to hire a teacher. Lately he was her only friend. Carl was the only one she could trust and always gave her advice what to do with Victor.
"Good morning" he said opening his eyes.
"Good morning."
No kiss, no affectionate words. They got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. Then Victor left for work and Victoria was left alone with the maids.
Victoria sat and played the piano. Her rhythm was slow and sad. Then it grew stronger and full of power only to die again like a long lost memory. Like her life, she though. There used to be a time she had hope. She thought she and Victor could really be together. But now she knew better.
…………
When night fell Victor left his work. Even work could not distract him from his thought. Yet he did not wan to return home. That's why he allowed himself to wander off. His feet carried him to the forest. It was so quiet it scared him. Yet it seemed somehow familiar.
Suddenly he realized that was the place they first met. "With this ring I ask you to be mine" he'd said and put the ring in the branch. At least he thought it was a branch. It was in reality her finger. That was the first time he vowed to love her. He didn't know it at the time. He tried to do it later in the church but she'd stopped him.
"Oh, Emily, why did you leave me?"
He sighed. What's done is done. He shouldn't hurt any more. Emily was gone now.
"Victor, is that you?" a voice came from a tree.
"Who is it?"
It was that spider, Emily's friend
"It's about Emily…"
"Is she all right?" he asked but then realized Emily had burst into butterflies a long time ago.
The spider seemed to be forgetting that.
"She is, for now… Her heart is broken and she can't bear it."
"But I thought those butterflies meant…"
"She came back to our world and she has changed. She's always sad and she cries a lot. She doesn't even sing or play the piano any more."
Victor looked away. He didn't play any more either. It was too painful. Every time he played he thought of her. He turned to leave.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"Where I am supposed to go."
…………
Victor returned home to find Victoria having dinner. He realized he hadn't had dinner with her for quite some time. He always stayed at work until late. He decided to sit with her.
"Victoria, can I ask you a question?"
"What is it?"
"Are you happy?"
"What do you mean?"
"With our marriage. Do you think it was the right thing to do?"
"I don't know."
"I see."
"You, Victor? Do you think we made a mistake?"
He didn't reply but went upstairs. Victoria decided it was best not to push things. He would calm down. It was obvious something was wrong with him.
…………
Emily was up that rock she loved so much. Lately she spent a lot of time there. Obviously a heart could brake after it stopped beating. She thought of Victor and how happy he must be with Victoria. He wanted to be with her from the very beginning and that was the right thing. They should live their lives together. Maybe they even had children now.
"Yet the pain here that I feel, try and tell me it's not real, for it seems that I still have a tear to shed" she whispered and started crying again.
"Crying doesn't suit you my dear!"
Emily jumped from her seat.
"Barkis! What do you want?"
"Finally I see you alone. None of your friends is here to defend you" he said approaching her.
"Stay away from me?"
"Or what? You'll kill me?" It's pathetic!
She gave him a look full of hate.
"You've become a miserable little woman who sits here and weeps. You could have him you know. But you gave up on him. You don't deserve to be loved. You are nothing!"
"What do you know about love? You only love yourself!"
"Yes, indeed. I do love myself. And it's your fault I ended up like this! And you are going to pay for that!" he said raising his hand to hit her.
"Aaaargh!"
…………
Victor sat on his desk and wrote something on a piece of paper. He folded it carefully and left it on his pillow. Then he removed his clothes and went to have a bath. He filled the bathtub and sank it the water. It was a wonderful warm feeling and he could see the moon through the window.
He remembered how much Emily loved the moonlight. She danced and floated under it. He would surely miss the moonlight. But he had made his decision. He took the razor that was next to him. Interesting how something so small could kill you. It was important that he remained calm now. He knew it was the right thing to do and he couldn't ignore his feelings any longer.
Carefully he cut his veins all the way from his wrist to his elbow. His blood came out hot and made the water dark. Victor could feel himself becoming weaker until he could barely breathe. His memories with Emily were all he could think of. Just a little longer and he would see her again. Somewhere distant the voice of Victoria sounded calling for him and he thought she heard her yell. Perhaps she found the note. It was of little importance now.
"Emily wait for me" he whispered as his last breath left him.
Victoria burst into the bathroom only to face him dead. There was blood in the water and he was still holding the razor. Tears filled her eyes. Deep down she knew this was going to happen sooner or later. She just never wanted to believe it. "I have to do this. Forgive me." That was what he wrote to her.
She kneeled on the floor and took his body in her arms. She pushed his hair away and kissed his forehead.
"Goodbye Victor" she whispered and held him close to her.
……………
"New arrival! New arrival!"
Everyone gathered to see who it was.
"Victor!?" they all said surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Where's Emily?" he asked impatiently but noone seemed to know.
"She disappears all the time" said a skeleton.
"But I need to find her!"
"Don't worry, my boy" an old corpse tried to comfort him. "She can't go anywhere. We are all dead here."
Victor left the bar wandered around the streets.
"Are you looking for Emily?"
It was the spider again.
"Yes. Do you know where she is?"
"Up in the rock. She likes it there and nobody disturbs her."
"Thank you!" he said and ran as fast as he could.
He his a couple of skeletons as he run that would definitely need some help sorting each ones bones later but he couldn't bother with that. He climbed the stairs as fast as he could and reached the top. Noone was there.
"Emily!" he yelled. "Emily where are you?"
"Victor, down here! Help!"
It was the maggot that used to be in her head. It was holding on a small stone to avoid falling from the cliff. Victor picked him in his hand.
"Thank you."
"Where's Emily? What happened?"
"Barkis. He took her not long ago."
"What?"
"He hit her and said he'd lock her in a coffin and bury her so that nobody would ever find her."
"We have to stop him. Where did they go?"
"That way. If you hurry you'll catch him."
Victor run as fast as he could almost falling twice until he reached the end of the city of the dead. A corpse who rented carriages was saddling a bony horse.
"Have you seen Lord Barkis and Emily?" Victor asked.
"I haven't seen Emily for days but Barkis passed a few minutes ago carrying a coffin. He took one of my carriages."
"Oh no" said Victor and jumped on the bony horse. "I'll bring it back I promise" he said as he rode as fast as the horse could go.
……………
Lord Barkis had finished digging a hole big enough for a coffin. He opened the lid and looked at Emily.
"How does it feel being dead and buried? Too bad you're all tied up and you can't go anywhere."
"Let me go Barkis!"
"Or else? Noone will save you this time."
"HELP!!"
"You can yell as much as you want. Nobody is here to listen to you. Ha ha ha."
Lord Barkis closed the lid and pushed the coffin in the hole. As he dropped the first shovel of dirt he heard a horse approaching.
"Hold it right there Barkis!" yelled Victor.
He stopped the horse and ran towards his enemy grabbing a broken tree branch. They fought fiercely for a while and Victor seemed to be loosing. Suddenly Barkis used his shovel to attack him and almost managed to hit him. Victor ducked to avoid the attack and his Barkis behind the knees causing him to fall down. Then he hit his back with the branch and stepped on his hand so that he'd let go of the shovel. Barkis was unable to move so Victor took the shovel and after a while ha had Barkis tied on a tree with a rope he found in the carriage. Then he hurried down the hole and opened the coffin.
"Emily, thank god you're all right!"
"Victor? What are you doing here?"
"I'm saving you."
"I mean, you know, with the dead."
"I missed you. As we were once told people are dying to get down here. Right?" he said and smiled.
Emily smiled too and hugged him. He helped her get out and they decided to bury Lord Barkis so that he wouldn't harm anyone else. Victor and Emily returned to the city with the carriage and the horses and they found that everyone was expecting them.
"So? What happened" asked one of the kids. The others were also interested to find out.
"Victor and I have to talk a bit, all right?" she said.
Nobody moved.
"Alone?" she stated giving them an angry look.
Everyone suddenly remembered they had some place to be.
"Now, Victor, why are you here?"
"I came for you."
"What about Victoria?"
"She'll be better off without me. It wasn't working out between us."
"Why?"
"Because I was in love with another woman. I was in love with you. And anyway I think she'll be happy with her piano teacher. I've seen the way he looks at her. Why did you let me think you were gone?"
"I though it would be easier to forget me this way. And it was a nice effect. Not like the crows. Wait, how did you know I was still here?"
"I didn't tell him…" said the spider who was hiding in the shadows and moved away giggling.
"I see…" Emily said and smiled.
"I want to ask you something Emily."
"What is it?"
"Will you marry me?"
She looked at him and saw love in his eyes. Love was in her eyes too.
"Will you?" asked a kid that opened a window and held out its head in its hands to take a better look.
"Yes, I will" answered Emily laughing.
Every nearby window and door opened and people started cheering for them. Obviously they hadn't gone very far in the first place. She buried herself in his arms and he kissed the top of her head. A party followed right away and everyone sang and danced. At some point Victor sat in front of the piano and everything went quiet.
"Emily?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"Would you like to play with me again?"
"I'd love to."
…………
The next day in the main square…
"Are you two ready to start?" asked Elder Gutknecht.
Emily looked at Victor. He was holding her hand and she could see he couldn't wait for them to get married. She thought about Victoria. Maybe she would be happy with that piano teacher. She wouldn't be happy with Victor anyway. Emily would though. Her heart was not broken anymore and she would finally have her dreams come true.
Victor was thrilled Emily would be his in a few minutes. This would be the third time he would say his vows to her and this time nothing would go wrong. The third time was the lucky one for them. He squeezed her hand a bit to show her he was there for her.
"Yes" they both said together.
"Good."
"With this hand I will lift your sorrows, your cup will never empty for I will be your wine. With this candle I will light your way in darkness, with this ring I ask you to be mine."
"I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Victor smiled to Emily and held her tight in his arms.
"I love you" he said.
"I love you too."
Their lips met in a loving and passionate kiss and everyone cheered for them.
And they spent eternity happily ever after…
Author's note: I always thought Emily and Victor should be together. So I made that happen. I hope you liked it. Please review…