More Life Through Death
Her left hand was still on my waist, and we lay sideways facing each other. On her face was a waning radiant smile that looked like it had been frozen in time; it was the perfect symbol of love that any man would want in the physical world. Her touch was slowly losing the warmth that had kept me glued to her for two years. The shiny black bedsheets blended perfectly with her naked brown body, and I rubbed a tear that was forming from her right eye. The red strip lights above the ceiling were still on, and they made it seem like she was crying blood. It was a tear of the horror I had pulled her into and the fear that I, too, maybe lingering in the spiritual world looking for her. At that point her spirit was still in touch with the physical body. Sorrowfully, tears flowed freely from my eyes, and I wondered whether they were a trophy to the deception I had orchestrated or guilt to what I had done to Juliana. From the instant I met her, I had known that this moment would dawn because my days on earth were numbered. It would be the beginning of the realization that one day this jewel would die for me. Now Juliana lay there lifeless, and I could not begin to imagine how stranded she was in the spiritual world while looking for me. It pained me that I had done this to her when she had given me nothing but earnest love. All the hopes and dreams we had died in that horrific nightmare I had lured her into knowing pretty well that it would be the last day she ever dreamt of anything. Since the day we met, I swore to myself that regardless of the amount of time I would spend with her, I would ensure that she got everything she desired, including all the attention, support, and admiration she required. From then onwards, her dice was cast, but I would ensure her remaining days on earth count. Even in death, I was sure she would look back and commend me for the wonderful job I had done in loving her right, that is, if she never knew that I was her killer.
I slowly removed her hand from my waist and sat upright to absorb the potency of the moment. Even in her death, she obliged, and I covered her face with the bed sheet to hide my shame and sins. I remembered the smooth lines under her eyelids and the spark of her light brown eyes when she kissed me. All the pleasant days and nights we had spent together would be no more because of my ungodly doing. Now Juliana was no more, and I could not fathom how I would break this sad turn of events to her parents. In two weeks, I had promised them an engagement ceremony, and preparations for the event were underway. Now how was I going to look them in the eye and lie to them that their daughter had died in her sleep? The pangs of the responsibility stung more because I was ridden with guilt, and there was no way I could reverse the outcome. At that moment, I swear that if there was a way, I would have taken it. Out of all women I had killed, this was the hardest blow because Juliana had given me a rosy life without the prickly thorns. It was an orchestrated deal that I would have to pull through if my life in this dimension was to be extended. Admittedly, it was selfish, but my belief was that my mission on this earth was greater than any individual, and I was doing this for posterity. I had an entire universe of lost souls that depended on me to deliver them into the world beyond. Most of them had roamed this earth for over 300 years, and they could not bear an extra minute in this dimension.
