Table of contents for Themes of Eternity
When I awoke, my first thoughts were of Liselle. The bride of my youth, the flower in my heart. I was happy to find out that she was still alive, and it had only been four years since my death. I rejoiced at the new lease of life that I had been given – a life that I could now enjoy with my love. Quickly, I ran back to my village, where I was sure to find Liselle, still staying in the house that we had first moved into as newlyweds, the house that I had built with my own hands during our long betrothal.
I arrived at dusk, and there were the villagers returning from their fields, but I avoided them at the moment. I wanted the first one to see my resurrected self to be Liselle. Quickly, I hurried under the cover of gathering nightfall to the little cottage at the edge of the woods.
When I arrived, I was a little surprised to find the house empty. However, Liselle’s shoes were at the doorstep, and a pot of stew had been left to boil over a merry little fire, so I surmised that she had only left for a short while. She must have gone into the woods, as she was often wont to do. I remember how we had many such walks among our beloved trees during our courtship.
I strode through the trees, delighting in the memories that flowed back to me through the mists of time. Love had made this a hallowed place, love had brought me back even from death to be at her side again. I could not wait to see Liselle and wrap her in my arms.
Hark! There she was! But what was she doing? And who was that man beside her? I could only see his back, as they were both facing away from me. I was puzzled and curious. Something stirring within me warned me not to approach them carelessly, so I carefully muted my footfalls and sneaked close enough to overhear their conversation.
Liselle was kneeling down, putting flowers in front of a gravestone. Straining, I managed to make out the words on the epitaph and was surprised to find my name there. That was my grave! That was where I had been buried. I was pleased that Liselle had chosen to bury me in the woods that we loved, instead of the horrible decrepit village cemetery.
“Jonathan,” Liselle was saying. “The time I spent with you was truly a precious memory to me. They will be memories that I will always cherish.” I was warmed to hear my love speak of our moments together. “But,” she continued. “That’s what they are – just memories now. I’ve spent four years mourning you. It’s time for me to move on.”
She paused for a second. The man put his hand on her shoulder and drew her to his side. Abruptly, I recognised him as my dear friend Sidney. But what was he doing to my wife?
“Sidney has been very kind to me, in all those years that you’ve gone,” Liselle continued. “And I’ve grown to love him as well. So…”
“So we ask for your blessing on our wedding,” Sidney interjected softly. “We hope you’ll watch over us from afar and rejoice that we’ve found happiness again.”
WHAT was THIS?!
I reeled back in shock, my mind spinning. My best friend and my wife were getting married? How could they? How could they do this to me?
Absently, I realised that Liselle and Sidney had gotten up and were beginning to walk back towards me, arm-in-arm. They stopped for a kiss, and my lips and heart burned like fire. Liselle’s eyes were shining – shining like the way they did when they had looked into mine. Shining at Sidney. I couldn’t stand to see anymore, so I fled blindly into the woods, my aching heart a wellspring of tears that continued to blur my vision.
Why? Why did I come back, if it was only to see my wife in the arms of another man?
What did I do to deserve this? How could she have forgotten me so easily? How dare Sidney betray me and steal my wife?
The longer I thought, the darker my mind became. The day had faded away into night, and the darkness aided my brooding. Inside, I could feel all the love I had for Liselle slowly crumble into ashes, and a rising tide of hatred began to build up. This wedding must not happen. They did not deserve to have happiness without me. How dare they!
I stayed in the darkening woods, plotting my revenge.
