[viperdk1]

Welcome to my lair. My place to store the fruits of my labour.

Your first meal to feast upon is three short stories of mine. They are by no means delectable treats, but enjoy nonetheless.

Spoiler for One Last Breath:

These blue orbs of mine, that had been my gateway to the wonders of the world for my entire life, had always longed to stare up at the sky and take in all of its natural beauty.

But not like this. Never had I envisaged this.

In matter of moments, a wonderful time in my life had turned into an instance of pain and disaster. Those serene clouds that had always floated dreamily in the air above my head cried a river over me, bombarding my stricken body with floods of water. The feeble protection I had sought from the worst the weather had to offer had been discarded, lying open on the concrete pavement upon which I had been walking.

It was strange, really – in that matter of moments between joy and disaster, the senses other than sight, which I had taken for granted for the twenty-three years of my existence, appeared to vanish into the ether.

I could barely feel the rain that struck me as though it was an endless wave of punches at my body, for my body had suddenly become immune to the pain it would’ve unleashed upon. I could scarcely hear the sounds of the many bystanders shrieking, as silence had fallen upon my stunned ears. I could hardly even smell the blood that now oozed from the newly created wound upon my chest that soaked my shirt even more freely than the rain.

However, I realised that those senses were of little use to me now – my life was on the verge of ending. I believed that the black clouds of rain were the last thing I would ever see in my meagre existence. Though I myself had little knowledge of it, the nearest hospital was over an hour away – so the ambulance that would evidently arrive in a bid to rescue me would be fighting a lost cause.

Suddenly, the picture of the sky that had been ingrained into my psyche as my last view of life began to change. A strand of long brown hair flickered into my view – followed by another, before a face entered my slightly blurred field of vision.

In the matter of moments after the bloody wound opened upon my chest, the reason why I had been walking in the rain had been lost to the depths of my mind. Unexpectedly, upon seeing that face, the memories rushed back. There was no shock – just a slight sense that a wish of mine was about to be fulfilled.

A light feeling of my body being lifted entered my thoughts – and it was with that sudden familiar feeling that I knew exactly who was clutching me in their arms. A mere glance up told me all I need to know. Wide brown eyes that I had always ending up losing myself in – and the long flowing hair that felt like cashmere when I caressed it regularly.

I could see her mouth move fifty to the dozen in total fear of what had happened – but I heard nothing that she spoke to me.

I didn’t want to leave her so soon.

I loved her more than anything in the world.

A small smile crept onto my face, sadly resigned to my cruel fate. Though I could not hear it myself, I muttered two words as my eyes closed for the last time.

“I’m sorry.”

Spoiler for Alone:

“Do you love me?”

In my past, I was never certain of my answer to such a loaded question. After all, if I were to say yes if I didn’t mean my words, I would be living a lie. If I were to say no, I would probably break her heart.

Now, of course, there was no doubt whatsoever. A small golden ring wrapped around my left ring finger continually reminded me of what I now shared with the woman who had slept by my side for the very first time the previous night.

“Why ask me when you already know the answer?” I beamed, glancing over to my newly-wed wife. Her long locks were dishevelled and her beaming brown eyes seemed weary from having just awoken, but I didn’t care.

I loved her. Enclosing my roughened hands around the soft and silky hands of my beloved wife, I closed my eyes, fully aware of the loving warmth that emanated from her palms.

“I love you, my dear wife.”

It was a feeling that I never believed I would ever feel in my lifetime – so feeling it for the first time... I finally believed that I was finally happy.

I fully expected my wonderful wife to respond in kind to my words of love. However, there was nothing but silence – and ever so quickly, as my eyes remained blind to the world around me, everything seemed to change.

The warmth I had felt from her silky hands being enclosed within mine suddenly evaporated into dust. I could only assume that she had picked herself up from the smooth canvas that was our bed, so I re-opened my eyes to view the place where her beautiful form had once laid.

But there was nothing there.

There had been nothing there all night.

“Guess I was dreaming again,” I muttered, clutching in anguish at the empty space where I thought my beloved had been sleeping during the night. Even though I expected it, I was dismayed to see that no ring was placed upon my finger.

I would like to say that she had once slept by my side – but that would be a lie.

That empty space upon my bed was never filled with the body of a loved one. I was never sure why I got a double bed in the first place – maybe I was hoping that one day I would find that one woman who would make my life complete?

I was only fooling myself. No girl had ever given me a second look, let alone the time to love me.

I was all alone.

Spoiler for Gem of Dreams:

There once was a young boy who lived peacefully, living an existence without fears or worry. All he wanted to do was aim high, earn the right things that could shape his future and live the dreams that he had for his life.

That little boy grew, taking only glimpses into the world around him as he pursued his dream. Looking after number one was the only thing he cared for.

With each passing year, however, the boy found himself taking in more and more of the landscape in which he lived. He was enthralled by the things he had been missing out on for so long, and charged in to trial the one thing that other boys his age had already become accustomed to.

Yet the little boy, having ignored it for so long, did not know how to act. Just how should he treat the thing that had eluded him for many years? For him, there was but one way.

The little boy, captivated by this gem, carried on as though this thing was the same as his dreams he had pursued for many years. However, such a gem was far more fragile than he had thought, and in minutes, a small piece of this gem fell to the ground before his eyes – and those boys and girls who bore witness to this scorned him for his immature actions.

Yet the boy carried on, hoping that this gem would soon become a shining beacon in his life if he clung on and pursued that dream. With each failure as he grew, more pieces of the gem crumbled away, never to be seen again – so much so that the jewel, which had been the size of a tennis ball at first, resembled a small ping pong ball. There were times that the gem shined, only for a piece to break off as the boy clung onto the hope that the gem would still shine as he had wanted. Each time, the jewel stopped shining.

Then, as the gem shrunk to the size of one found on a ring, the boy found a moment where it shone at its brightest. It was the one glimmer that revealed that, after many years of searching, he found that thing that other boys had found so easily.

Once again, however, the boy clung on, hoping that the shine would remain, still forgetting all those times when the jewel broke before his eyes. Just as the cracks were appearing yet again on the gem, a girl came up to him, wondering quite why the boy was clinging on for all his might.

“I’m scared. I’m so very scared that this gem will stop shining, so I hold on to it, making sure it shines for eternity.”

The girl could not understand the logic of the boy. “You don’t need to be there for it all the time, you know? Just because you are not in contact with it does not mean it will stop shining. Just because the gem does not respond to your words does not mean the light is fading.”

The boy took the girl’s words on board, and let go of the gem. With that, it shone ever more brightly for years to come – the boy had never seen it shine so brightly in his life. Finally, the boy understood what the other boys had already known for so long.

Soon, the gem was no longer in the possession of the boy. Instead, at great expense, it was attached to a coil of metal. This ring was now worn by the girl who had given that boy those words of wisdom so many years ago.

It was on display for the world to see – as the boy and the girl walked down the aisle together on their wedding day.

If you love someone, don’t be afraid that you may lose them and cling on for dear might – otherwise you most certainly will. Overcome your fear and move forward with those you care about.