Doorstop

Jessie slept on an unfamiliar bed. How did she get there? It started with the tire of her car exploding. Luckily her boyfriend, Josh, was with her. The bad news was that her spare tire was also no good. They found an old abandoned Victorian house in which they ended up staying. She could hear the thunder and the rain falling down with no intention of stopping any time soon. Walking was not an option since the next city was miles away.
“Don’t worry, we will get help tomorrow,” Josh said.
Jessie was scared but attempted to be optimistic. She did not understand how their cell was not getting any signal. Nevertheless, they were safe and dry, away from the storm that appeared out of nowhere.
To keep her mind from running wild she decided to walk around and explore the house. As she entered an office she found something that had caught her attention. Behind the door was an old Victorian antique doorstop. It was a brass mythical large fish. It’s tail was erected, the tip coiled, its mouth was pursed as if kissing something. She picked it up and felt its intricate scales.
It’s so beautiful, Jessie thought. It felt cool to the touch. She took it with her as she entered the master bedroom where Josh was working on turning on the fireplace.
“Look what I found,” Josh declared as Jessie neared him. She gasped as she saw what he held in his hand. It was a replica of the doorstop she had found. However, there was something slightly different. The eye sockets of the fish had pearls.
“I found one too.” Jessie replied.
“Maybe mine is a girl,” Josh said, examining both fishes.
Jessie smiled. “That is a possibility.”
She put hers down on the desk that stood at the corner of the room. Josh did the same. That is when she noticed that both fishes, when put together, seemed to be kissing.
“It looks like they never had a chance to complete their kiss,” Josh said.
It was true, the fish's lips could not touch no matter how close Jessie tried to align them.
“Oh well,” Josh announced as he kissed Jessie on the temple.
Jessie continued to stare at the fishes. They seemed to intrigue her for some odd reason. There was a sudden clap of thunder which lit the room for a moment. It was enough to startle her. She gasped in shock as she noticed a silhouette against the wall. It looked to be a male and female!
“Did you see that?” Jessie wondered.
“What?”
She wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her.
“Nothing.”
“Come to bed.”
The fire warmed the room as she laid with Josh. That night she dreamt of Sita and her lover Dimitro. Friends by day but lovers at night. The couple were wed to other people. Sita’s marriage was something she had never desired. Her heart belonged to Dimtro. She lived with her husband in the exact house in which Jessie slept.
Sita and Dimtro would meet at night in the office where they would steal kisses in the night and make love by the fireplace. Jessie could feel their passion and desperation when they embraced. Their love was forbidden. But the couple plotted something unspeakable. They worked together to get rid of their marriages.
A dinner was prepared as it contained dancing and drinks. By the end of the occasion Sita’s husband was dead. However, Dimitro’s wife had her suspicion and demanded for the lovers to speak the truth.
“You will die!” Dimitro had shouted.
Sita had stabbed his wife. As she laid on the ground she laughed as she took her final breaths. She, too, had also plotted her own unspeakable plan. She had cursed the lovers. One which would never allow them to be together. Never to unite, not even in death. As Dimitro’s wife took her final breath she smiled as if she was taking a secret with her. The lovers were about to rejoice with a kiss when, suddenly, Sita felt a stab in her chest. She stared at Dimitro with fear. She saw that he clutched to his chest as well. Before they could embrace they fell to the ground manifesting into lifeless cold fishes. They tried to reach for each other, gasping for air, trying to drag themselves like flapping fishes out of the water. However, their attempts were futile as they turned into brass...
Jessie gasped in horror as she sat up in bed. She looked around the room and noticed that Josh was still asleep, the crackling of the fire was the only sound that she could hear. The storm had stopped. She got off the bed and wondered what she had dreamt. What did it all mean? Why did she have this dream? She stared at the brass fishes as she neared them. The light of the fire had the fish with the pearl eyes glow.
“What?” Jessie wondered as she decided to touch it.
Jessie.
She looked around the room.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
As her hand ran across the scales she felt herself grow tired, falling deep inside her own mind. She closed her eyes. What was happening? As she attempted to reopen her eyes she realized that she could no longer move. Fear crept inside her. She wanted to call out to Josh. She was staring at herself. How was this possible? She saw her body but in the eyes of the fish. Jessie had become the Victorian antique fish!
NO!
“Thank you.” Jessies heard herself say.
That is when she realized that the person that stood before her was Sita.
“Are you alright, babe?” Josh wondered.
Sita giggled, her eyes flickering with glee. She caressed Jessie then toppled her over, as if trying to protect her from what would happen next.
“I am alright, my love. Come. I see something interesting.”
No, Josh! Don’t! Jessie thought as Josh neared.
“We should take them.”
“What?”
She tapped on the fish that Jessie presumed Dimitro awaited.
To be set free!
It was too late. Josh touched it, as it seemed to call to him. He closed his eyes and when he reopened them he smiled at Sita.
“We are free!” Dimitro cried with happiness as he picked her up in his arms and swung her around the room.
Their laughter echoed throughout the room, as the light of the fire flickered. It was now Jessie and Josh that had become the brass fish doorstop, forever doomed in the old abandoned house.




(Word count: 1098)