Face Value

“If any man objects to these two young people being joined in marriage, speak now, or forever hold…”

I burst through the double doors and into the crowded room. “Iobject!” I wanted to scream, but realized that no sound could escape his mouth. I dashed frantically down the aisle toward the well-dressed couple, and the room drew a collective gasp. In one hand, I grasped a large leather-bound book in one hand and an object in my hand that they probably took as a weapon. However, I had not come here to kill, only to reclaim what was rightfully mine.

As I approached the altar, the man standing before it recognized me. “Brother?” he gasped, “Face? What are you doing?”

He held out his hand to impede my progress. I regretted that I could not give a few words of consolation to my brother, but I had a deed to do and only a few precious moments more. Quickly, I brushed him aside and gazed into the eyes of the woman next to him. Such pretty eyes. Eyes that would once again be mine.

He took her hand as she began to tremble, “What—“

I did not let her finish. With a faint smile, I tore open the book in front of her eyes, and a beam of brilliant light erupted from the pages. Her eyes and mouth gaped open as the beam held her firm.

“Remember me!” I cried.

The woman’s head dipped ever so slightly and a faint smile graced her angelic face. Satisfied, I released shut the book and painfully watched as the woman of my dreams fell roughly to the floor as limp as if she had been drowned.

The congregation members tried to move, but an inexplicable, icy fear had settled upon them as thick and heavy as a blinding fog. This fear bound them to their seats so that they could only watch as I turned around and paced silently back out the double doors.

As the doors drew themselves closed behind me, I could hear a woman’s voice, racked with anguish, carrying over the ensuing commotion. “Face, come back to me! Don’t leave me!”

Pain stricken, I swiveled about. “It’s your choice now, sweetheart. You must either choose to save Face, or choose to live the life of Fame.”