I lie within your arms and you hold me close to your chest. My fingertips dig into your arms. There is pain in our embrace, but God above, I want you to hurt me ... I want you to be mean.

But at the same time I just want to lay like this with you forever, never moving, never breathing, just forever and ever and ever in your arms and in your soul and in your heart.

Oh, Erik, how I love you.

When you touch me, pull my hair back from my face, I move yet closer, kiss your lips. Your mask is off. I love your face now, I don't care how deformed they say it is. You're beautiful.

I can tell my love scares you. That's all right.

You'll get used to it.

I feel something about my neck, feel it tighten, and I realise what you're doing. But I don't stop you; I have my wish, to lay in your arms forever and ever, never moving, never breathing.

x----x----x

You lay in my arms and I hold you to my chest. I feel fear at having you so close, fear at knowing that you love me so and that I cannot give you all you need. I am nothing. You are an angel.

I hate to do this but I must. I slip the noose around your neck and pull it tight, knowing you will understand what it is for and why I must do this to you, my beautiful wife, my love, my one and only darling.

You don't move to stop me and you lay in my arms, a beautiful woman now a beautiful corpse.

I pull the bedclothes over me and you and hold you to myself, trying to warm you with my own cold body. There is some life still left in you but that will soon be gone, and then what is left of your warmth will go.

But until then I will hold you, hold you in my poisoned arms.