She Fell

She Fell(Anna Gray) She fell. And so did silence. Ten long years had passed and not a word from him or her. He hadn’t meant to. It was an accident. But it wasn’t. She’d replaced him. Why would she do that? He loved her, gave her everything. And here he is, locked up in a lonely castle, having remained silent for all these years.
***
He sits now, unmoving, uncaring and with no emotion, numbed by the pain he once felt.
He has no desire to move, or at least none that I have observed. I think it’s time we changed that…
***
He wakes, goes to shave but he’s struck, shocked by a sudden wave of emotion. Back he goes, ten, twenty, thirty years. Running along the sand, his hand in hers, laughing. He hadn’t heard laughter in so long. But it was brief, fleeting, gone in an instant. His heart was racing as he fled the room, trying to find the darkest room in the castle where he could just think. Poor man. My poor, poor Arthur. Why is this happening to him? Because it must, if he is ever to learn.
***
On this goes, morning after morning, the same fleeting memory, the laughter, the sand, the sun. Until today. Today there were words.
***
“C’mon, Emily!” Running, linked hands. This was just like the others, only it went on. He tripped; she fell on top of him. He pulled her into his embrace and whispered,
“I love you.”
“I know.”
A flower placed into her hair. A flower white as snow.
“We could do it,” he said, “elope, run away, and live by the beach forever”
“You know I don’t want to disobey my father.”
“I know but we could. I’ll always be waiting.”
And that was it. Over. All in a matter of seconds.
***
More and more of the memory was revealed to him as time went on. He began to look forward to them and I was starting to enjoy the small smile that spread across his face. But that wasn’t to last much longer. I would make sure of that.
***
A new memory this time. A darker one. The night of their honeymoon. Her father had disowned her, for she had gone against him, married the ‘wrong man.’ Tears streamed down her cheeks as they pulled up to the gates of the castle.
“Cheer up! This’ll be fun!”
“I’ll never speak to him again.”
“I’ll… I’ll make it up to you. Anything you want and it’s yours.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I guess so”
“Can you get me my father back?”
“Well no, but-“
“That was rhetorical”
She didn’t speak to him all week.
***
But she did warm up to me, he thought, my Emily loved me. And I did, deep down but I could never forgive him. Not after all that he’s done to me. The smile ceased, and he went back to his usual emptiness, no emotions, and no feelings. Locking himself in his room, coming out only for the occasional meal. I felt bad. But he had it coming, coming quicker than he could ever imagine, the scars resurfacing, the wounds reopening. He was living the nightmare.
***
Him. He arrived late, one night, with a bunch of flowers. No, not Arthur, a stranger.
“Good evening, sir”
“Hello?”
“I have a gift for your wife, a thanks really.”
“Erm, OK?”
“Could you give them to her? Oh and tell her they are from Eric.”
“Of course, sorry, I’m not used to visitors this late. Would you like to…” He trailed off, indicating to the hallway.
“Oh, no. Thank you. I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
“Oh, well then, goodnight.”
Suspicious. He always found that man strange. But he should have guessed from my disappearances, from his appearances and from the exchanges made right in front of him. Yet Arthur, my sweet, sweet Arthur, remained oblivious.
***
This man haunted his daily flashbacks for the next few weeks. He would appear in his living room, making sandwiches, playing hide and seek with Arthur’s nephew in the back garden. He could understand his motives now, but back then he’d assumed he was just a relative of mine that I’d not mentioned. But the final memory to resurface would be the last and the most painful of them all.
“How could you?”
“Arthur, calm down, just listen! I never meant to I-“
“HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?”
The wind was strong, his words taken from his mouth suddenly. The cliff upon which they were standing was the same one where he had met her for the first time. Emily was backing towards the edge in a bid to get away from him. How convenient.
“Arthur please listen to me! I didn’t want to hurt you! My father, he told me he’d accept me as his daughter again if I-“
“I don’t care. I loved you, wasn’t that enough?” his voice grew dangerous. “You’re going to pay for this.”
He stepped forward, she stepped back. She began to flail as she reached the edge of the cliff. She reached out for him. He didn’t help her.
“Good Bye, Emily”
His face strewn with tears he resurfaced from his memory of that horrible day. I think he’s learnt his lesson. For as I observe him now he whispers to me
“I’m coming for you, Emily, I’m coming home.”
He tears now from the house, racing to the place where I died.
“I’m so sorry Emily. I’ll see you soon.”
With that, he closes his eyes and jumps.
***
I fell. And so did the silence. Ten long years had passed and not a word from either of us. My murder a thing of the past for now the castle is devoid of life. He stands beside me now, watching as the police and the medics rush to his aid. But he is long gone, his regrets laid to rest.