I Should Not Have Waited

I am waiting. I am waiting for my lover to call upon me. I have been waiting for much too long. Standing here in the dark, I listen for his footsteps. The trees are gently swaying in the breeze and I can hear only the animals of the night. The wind is soft and gentle on my body. Still, I wait and listen. I do not hear him approach.

He appears behind me as if from nowhere. I lean into him, not looking, but yet knowing it is him. His arms encircle me tightly. Closing my eyes, I feel the warmth of my lover drawing ever closer. I feel his lips on the back of my neck and his arms around my chest. He is pulling me tighter against his hard body. The heat from our bodies increases as I move against him. My heart races as I can feel his race too.

The heat continues to build growing uncomfortably hot. I try to pull away, my arms behind me, my palms on his hips. Yet he pulls me tighter against his too hot body. Everywhere we touch, burns me. My palms, my back, my neck, my chest, my legs all burning me. My heart speeds in fear. I am still trying to pull away but he will not release me. My arms flailing. My feet trying to get a grip on the grass. Even the wind is not helping to cool my burning body.

I fall to the ground as he suddenly releases me. I can feel the heat from him as he moves toward me again. I try to crawl away, but can not resist looking back to see him. My heart jumps into my throat and I can not move nor scream as I look into the face of the creature I mistakenly took as my lover. Flames cover his back, his face is nothing but a skull partly melted. He approaches me with a knife in his melting claw. I still can not will my body to move. He comes ever closer, leans in and kisses me on the lips. I shudder in horror and can not even close my eyes. His eyes stare into mine and as he kisses me, I realize that where his eyes should be, there is a vision of something I must see. He continues to kiss me and though my lips are burning, I can not help but to stare into his eyes. I still can not make out what the vision is. I feel a sharp pain in my neck, but yet I am still helpless to move. I become excited when I can finally make out the vision in his eyes. Then my hope is shattered as I realize what that vision is.

I fall to the ground and can only see his boots as he walks away. I can not move. His vision shows me as I am now. On the beautiful, cool grass, beneath the swaying trees in the moonlight. I lie on my back, a puddle of red on the dark green of the ground. The red is so vivid, but so is the slice across my neck.