The Music Be The Food flash fiction event continues with round five. This time, the song is “Even In Death (2016)” by Evanescence.
Give a listen to the tune and then read the next flash fiction piece, by Jack Wallen.
Crossing the Veil
I begged of you to stay; wanted so badly to help you understand the loss—our loss—would be eternal, that escape from the endgame wouldn’t come easy. And yet you failed our bond. Since then, I have trudged through the veil between worlds, hoping to gain purchase on your sight, so that you may see through my eyes and feel through my heart.
I remember how you stood over where I lay, the moonlight on the soft brown earth, and wept tears of sorrow down upon me and my place of resting. You cried out, “They took you away from me” and followed it up with a promise that you would stay here forever.
But you didn’t. You walked away from me; even daring to move forward with life, no longer singing to me that our love would go on beyond death. Your songs for me fell silent; I was your muse no more.
Time past, the tick and tock of seconds, minutes, hours, and weeks never failed to drive the wedge of life between us. Even as your promise that no bonds could hold you from my side faded, you knew I would persist…even if only in spirit. And so, I watched from the other side of Death’s mantle, following your moments from waking to sleep. This had been my plan as my last breath seeped from between the lips you’d kissed for so many years.
No matter my soul’s cost, I would bring us back together.
That time had come. This being the anniversary of the greatest tragedy of your life, I knew the beat of your oh so familiar heart was at its most fragile, the thread of your sanity at its weakest. Tonight, I would sing to bring you to me.
I sat at the piano, playing the theme you wrote for our wedding, the delicate notes maybe a bit too haunting for most people’s taste; but you knew me so well, how I would adore the gothic point and counterpoint of the notes.
“Amy?” Your voice called out from above, filled with a curious heartbreak. I continued playing to draw you down the grand staircase. Every note lifted from the instrument to rise into and out of the spirit realm, giving it a ghostly tone and timbre.
I sang the words you penned, your vows to me. Every syllable brought a fresh round of incorporel tears from my eyes. “I couldn’t love you anymore than I do now.” The words helped to underscore my sorrow; which, in turn, fed the heartbreak of song spilling from my soul.
You drew near the piano; the mournful look in your eyes assured me my plan was working. And so, I continued to play. Our lost whispers entwined together, giving life to memories that had nearly passed away from the stretch of time.
The lace curtains billowed inward on a gentle wind. Outside a soothing storm joined us in our song, thunder punctuating the phrasing as if it understood the music with an intimacy it shouldn’t have. Our arms crossed on the keys, mine passing through yours with an eternal sensuality. Together we gasped, our bodies shuddering in time with the storm’s rumble.
“My love,” you whispered and placed your hand on mine. Together we plucked out the final notes of the song. “I will stay forever with you.”
In the speaking of the words, you gave me the gift of permission. I stood behind you and reached through flesh and bone to cup your heart in my hands. The beat of your warm muscle was a comfort I hadn’t known in such a long time. I’ve missed you so.
You continued to play and sing. “You cannot leave me. I hear you singing to me.”
My hands pressed against the beating heart until it stuttered. Even then, you sang. “I have no reason to believe you’re gone.”
The heart in my hands strained against the pressure until you seized and life ceased.
“Come to me, my love,” I whispered in your ear.
“Amy?” You called softly; your voice whole, no longer traversing through the fog of death.
As your body faded from its corporeal form, I wrapped my arms around your chest. Eternity paused for a second, while I awaited your response. There was never any guarantee I could pull you from the living; should I fail, this would be our last moment together. While time rest in its own fragmented peace, I wept at the idea of losing you forever.
“My darling,” your soft voice broke the spell of sorrow.
“Lee,” I sighed as you turned to meet my gaze with your eternal eyes.
“Even death could not keep us parted.”
Your words never failed to steal the very beat of my heart. I sat back down at the piano and together we returned to the song, the melody rising into the ghostly realm to join the millions of heartbroken souls. Our tale would serve to give others hope that they too could cross the veil.
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