Chapter Three: Questions and Answers Chapter Three: Questions and Answers

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The floorboards creaked as he walked toward her room. It was late out, and only the moon was barley showing behind the clouds.

The sky glowed an eerie purple-blue. All was still and silent. Except for the creaking of the floor.

Mrs. Lovett lay peacefully in her bed. Turned toward the small window that was left open in her room. She breathed in rhythm to his steps.

The door slowly inched open. Mr. Todd stood there his eyes darting around the small cramped room.

He tiptoed over to her to make sure that she was really asleep. Strands of stray hair fell all over her face. With every breath, she blew them up and they'd slowly float back down again.

He walked silently toward the little dresser that stood in the corner of the room. A little mirror sat above it.

Tangles of necklaces, and other jewelry glimmered in the little moonlight. He searched quietly.

Ah, he found it. There it was. The silly little locket. Now that he looked at it, it seemed even clearer than before. It was beautiful.

He closed his eyes and remembered it against her pale skin. No…he didn't forget the day…he had just…misplaced it somewhere in his mind.

He stood still for a moment. Images flying through his head again. This time, he imagined snow.

The snow falling on the ground. The streets were empty as they could ever be. Ben and Nellie were running around like maniacs in the snow.

She fell down and didn't bother to get up. So he joined her there. "Let's play a game." She suggested.

He didn't nod, but didn't oppose. "Twenty Questions, okay?" He nodded and said "Okay. You ready?" "Nineteen." She said.

"What?" "Eighteen!" She almost shouted giggling. He figured it'd just be best to keep his mouth shut.

"Uh…are you cold?" He asked her "Yes." She said. "That was a stupid question. Come on, this is your only chance to ask me anything you want. Besides, you have seventeen questions left."

He inched closer to her, and put his arms around her to keep her warm. "Do you believe in ghosts?" she asked him

"Nope, just memories." He said. Even now this hurt Mr. Todd. Thinking even back then he knew where his life was heading…

"Nineteen questions Nellie!" "Are you afraid to die?" He asked her. "No, are you?" She asked.

"No, but now you have eighteen questions left, and I have…sixteen." He said, doing the calculations in his head.

"Do you love me?" he asked quieter than last time. She looked at him and murmured, "yes. I do."

He smiled, and placed a kiss on her lips. "Do you think we'll get married someday?" She asked. "Yah. He answered." And that was all he could remember.

The pain went down deep inside as he stood there looking into the small, dusty mirror. Who have I become? He asked himself.

The words that they shared hurt him so deeply inside, he began to get angry. But it was the dead of night.

There was nobody to kill right now. So no other way to take his anger out. He stood there frustrated.

The ran his thumb across the engraved letters on the back of the locket. "Forever Yours." He didn't need to see it, he could feel it.

Besides, if he closed his eyes, he could see it. But closing his eyes would just result in a nightmare. As if his life wasn't already one big nightmare that you couldn't wake up from.

He attempted to open it. She stirred and sat up in her bed. Her eyes locked with his, even in pitch black.

"Wot do you think you are doing, Mr. Todd?" he didn't know how to answer her. So he just asked another question.

"Wot's inside of this locket." She made her way up and snatched it out of his hands. "Why would you want to know?"

She asked. He didn't really want to tell the story. So he just stood there in silence. "Come on, tell me." She whimpered. "I'll wait all night until I understand why, you are in my room, attempting to open my locket."

He said nothing. She sat up in her bed. He walked over to her, and sat down next to her. He explained the whole story, thankful that it was dark out and she couldn't see him blushing from time to time.

She seemed to have fallen asleep. Her head was rested on his shoulder. Her locket clasped tightly in one of her little fist.

"Mrs. Lovett." He whispered. "How do I get to know what's in the locket?" she rolled over to the other side and mumbled; "You don't."

"But, Mrs. Lovett. We both know there's a way. It's to win the key to your heart." "That's right, but it's not a key that you could just randomly give away, love."

She said back. He slid down next to her. And played with the chain of the locket. Thinking about what he would do tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. Until finally, he fell peacefully asleep, holding her head in his arms.