Beloved

It was a very long day, very long. I had to do some overtime at work and by the time I got out of work, but it was long past dark. I really wished I’d stayed home today or had a chance to do something today but my boss is just like that, ‘every day is a good day to work’.1

Today makes it two years since Stephanie’s death and I wanted to take some more flowers to her grave and her marker. Unfortunately, the grave will have to wait until tomorrow but at least her marker is on the side of the road and only a slight detour.2

I still remember that day so very sadly. We had just gone our own separate ways after our date and I was just two miles behind her in my own vehicle. The most horrifying moment came when I saw her vehicle and another’s just off the road. The collision looked heavy and I was already fearing for Stephanie’s life. But not even she could withstand a driver’s side hit at high speeds. She was pronounced dead on the scene when police and paramedics arrived.3

It was just recently before the wreck that I had given her a bell as a good luck charm. I wanted to put it on her marker but I never did find it.4

I pulled off to side of the road seeing her cross of where she wrecked. I brought along some of her favorite flowers which were a mixture of purple and white flowers. I saw what all was put on her marker: a white candle halfway burned down before it blew out, her necklaces, a class ring, and finally her picture with her name inscribed into the frame.5

It hurt to see such a place again. The tire marks have long since disappeared, the vehicle has long since been remove, and she has long since left me for heaven instead. I had just put down the flowers when a sound rung in my ear.6

I thought of it as an illusion of my imagination and stood up. But then I heard it again. It was a small chime coming from a bell. I look in the direction it came from. From there I noticed a figure move into the darkness of the woody area. I followed.7

I’m not what drug me to follow but I did anyway. As I entered the woods, I heard the chime again. It was faint but I easily knew where it came from. I followed even more.8

I began to run faster and faster as chiming speed up as well. But no matter how fast I ran the chiming was always in front of me keeping a rhythm pace. The sheer power of my heart beating blood into my body kept me from tiring. I thought many time I saw the figure but that many times I believed I didn’t.9

The chiming then stopped. I stopped as well. Looking around in the dark night, I didn’t know what to expect. I began to regret coming into the forest. I breathed heavily easily seeing the condensation from my breath. It was about that time an eerie fog covered the ground.10

For that moment everything was quiet. The animals did not stir the night nor did the wind. The only thing I heard aside from the silence was my heart beating in fear. It seemed to be I was the only thing living in this area.11

A cold touch raised the hair on the back of my neck and stiffened as many muscle as possible. The chill continued down my spine immobilizing me. Something was behind me or rather above me. I did not move nor did I look.12

At last I heard one last chime and something dropped to my right. The cold feeling receded and the animals came back to life filling the night with chirps and howls like normal. I feared looking down, I feared finding out what I had been chasing. But something deep inside told me to look.13

I glanced down to see a small sphere. It was a light-blue marble color and was attached to a chain. I picked it up and looked it over. Then my eyes widen. It took me so long to find but I had finally found it. Written on the side in white cursive was one word I highly praised, ‘Beloved’.14