Blue Skies

Tangent Universe entry Round 6 ~ Musical Prompt: Blue Skies by Willie Nelson

         Anna stepped from the gazebo, her white dress gleaming in the hundreds of white lights that glittered around the whitewashed pavilion.  Her smile was bright and wide as she gazed at Jerry.  She was just as gorgeous tonight as she’d been five years ago when they’d married in this very place.  Jerry was taller than she was by a good eight inches, but that had never hindered them, and he was broad in the shoulder with sandy blond hair.  Anna looked into his deep blue eyes and her smile widened.  Anna was a classic beauty, lithe and svelte, a natural blond with soft green eyes that laughed merrily at all of life’s ups and downs.  He couldn’t believe that he’d had Anna as his wife for the last five years, they seemed to have flown by in a haze of happiness for him.  Jerry loved his life, loved his work… loved his beautiful wife, and he looked forward to many more years with Anna. 

         “Happy Anniversary, Anna-bear.  I love you so much that I can’t even believe it’s been five years.” Jerry murmured as he took her into his arms. 

         “They’ve been the best Jer, and it’ll be even better the longer we’re together… I truly believe it.” Anna said softly against his cheek.  Jerry bent and nuzzled her neck, breathing deeply, making Anna shiver.  He loved it when she did that. 

         “I believe you.  I’d marry you again you know.” Jerry breathed against her skin.

         “Blue skies, baby… I’d marry you again too.  I see nothing but blue skies for us.” Anna smirked as she tipped her head back to give him access to the soft hollow just above her collarbone.  Jerry heard her breath catch as his teeth skimmed the spot and he knew he’d found that special place that was an erotic zone for her… yet another thing he loved about his wife.

         Suddenly Anna stiffened and a small shriek escaped her.  Her body went completely rigid and Jerry looked up at her face in confusion.  Her stunning eyes were wide and terrified and her body began shuddering violently as he held her.  Then Jerry’s eyes fell on the dark head and pale face attached to Anna’s neck.  He looked on incredulously, unable to move in his shock as it seemed like the head near her neck was biting his wife. 

         “Jerry…” Anna breathed, her eyelids fluttering slightly until with one final gasp, she just stopped… stopped moving; stopped breathing… stopped living. 

         The dark head moved, disengaging from Anna’s neck to look up at Jerry’s stunned and pale face.  Jerry blinked in disbelief when he saw an elongated pair of canines and the remnants of Anna’s blood dripping from them.  The pale man grinned sickeningly at Jerry and Jerry had to fight his horror and revulsion.

         “I love the pure at heart… they are the finest of wines among a sea of vinegar,” the pale man sighed then he straightened up and gave Jerry a sharp, contemplative look.  “Shall I have you too or shall I turn you into my lackey… or maybe I shall leave you as a pitiful human and watch while you go quietly insane.  That is one of my favorite pastimes.”

         Jerry gaped, unable to form thoughts, much less words to reply with.  The pale man shifted slightly and Jerry noticed that his teeth had shrunk as he watched the pale man take a white handkerchief out and wipe the blood from his face.

         “Yes, I believe I shall enjoy watching you go mad.  But because I am not a cruel and heartless creature, I will give you one small token.  If you decide that you cannot take this ridiculous human life a moment longer, you call my name and I vow to you that I will gladly end your misery.”

         “Name?” Jerry finally managed to utter.

         “Yes, human… poor pitiful human, my name.  You call for Count Alamarr and I swear on your puny life that I’ll end you.”

         With that, the pale man seemed to vaporize before Jerry’s eyes.  Jerry blinked for a long moment before he realized that his beloved Anna lay lifeless in his arms.  Her eyes, that stunning green, were wide and dull and her arms fell toward the ground behind her as Jerry held her to him.  Tears flooded Jerry’s blue eyes as he knelt to gently lower her to the soft grass. 

         How was he to go on without her?  How could he live?  She’d promised him blue skies with her at his side and now she was gone.  A lifeless, bloodless shell that was but a vague memory of her beauty and grace.  Tears fell unchecked from Jerry’s eyes as he called 911.

~*~*~*~*~

         Jerry stood by the white marble stone, his hair unkempt, and his blue eyes broken and vacant.  He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here, but he knew he spent more time here than at home or work.  Work… right, he didn’t have a job any longer… they’d fired him.  With a broken sob, Jerry fell to his knees, searching for a glimmer of his beautiful Anna and finding only grass, dirt and stone.  In the five years since her life had abruptly been stolen from him, Jerry had fallen.  He’d fallen into a deep, dark depression that had crippled him.  He’d fallen from grace and fallen out of love with life.  Nothing held any promise for him and he’d finally decided that he needed to be with his precious Anna.

         Jerry finally regained control of himself and wiped the tears from his haggard face.  He didn’t want to be crying like a baby when he ended his life, he wanted to be brave… for Anna.  Jerry struggled with his desire to die as it warred with his sense of self-preservation.  Night fell as he stared at the marble and traced the letters of Anna’s name in the cold white stone.  As it got darker, the marble seemed to glow with a life of its own in the moonlight.  Jerry vaguely felt his watch buzz at the stroke of midnight but he still didn’t do the one thing to end his miserable life.

         One o’clock came and went, as did two and three.  Four arrived before Jerry finally plucked up the courage to speak.

         “Count Alamarr!” Jerry called.  He moved to sit with his back against the marble, hoping to feel closer to Anna as he waited.  Four thirty came and went and Jerry began to think that the pale man had been playing him for a fool.  As it neared five, Jerry heard the smallest wisp of a sound.  He blinked and in that infinitesimal space of time, Count Alamarr appeared before Jerry.

         “Hello again, pitiful man.  It took you longer than I expected it to.”

         Jerry didn’t say anything as his courage faltered.

         “Shall we get on with this, I really must be getting home,” the pale man said.  He knelt and leaned toward Jerry, who flinched and held his hand up.

         “Wait!  Please.  Five years ago, you mentioned death and you mentioned becoming like you… does this still exist… this option?” Jerry gasped as a putrid smell assaulted his nose.  The count looked at Jerry for a long moment then sat impatiently on the ground.

         “I suppose it does,” the pale count answered.

         “What are the benefits of becoming like you?” Jerry asked. 

         Count Alamarr sighed deeply with resignation.  He discussed with Jerry the pros and cons of becoming one of the undead, trying to be quick with his answers.  Jerry questioned the pale count for a long time, asking any and all questions as they occurred to him.  When he finally fell silent, the count looked ready to just kill him and be done with it. 

         “I believe I have made my decision,” Jerry said finally.

         “All right, then what is it?” the count asked as an odd warmth crept over him.  He began overheating and then smoking, his body refusing to obey his commands to move, to vaporize.  A long, low wail pierced the morning dawn as the count exploded in a shower of ash.

         Jerry looked up in surprise to see the sun rising behind the place where the count had just been sitting.  He stared at the bright orb as long as his eyes would allow with dawning wonder.  Then, for the first time in five long, dark years, a smile lifted Jerry’s lips.  He watched with fascination and a newfound appreciation for the life that was carrying on around him.  It was as though the dark cloud of depression that the count had placed over him was dispelling with the count’s death and Jerry saw everything with new eyes.

         The sun was brighter than ever; the grass was greener, the air fresher.  Jerry stood and gently stroked the top of the marble headstone, his smile widening.  He looked up and breathed deeply at the high blue sky. 

         “Blue skies Anna-bear… nothing but blue skies from now on,” Jerry murmured to himself then he turned and left the cemetery with the closure that had eluded him for five long years.

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