Haunted By Your Love

• Yulin He, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2017

My feet slip outwards on the wet autumn leaves as I round the corner, the cold evening air shocking my throat and lungs as I inhale deeper, faster. With each footfall, a jarring pain shoots ankle to knee. My heart beats frantically, all or nothing. Fail and my whole body will pay the price, run and the damage is limited mostly to my shins and knees. Fail and I'll never be able to feel her blonde hair and look into her beautiful emerald eyes. Fail and I'll never have the chance to see her again. Fail and the darkness will mercilessly swallow me in a whole.

Wet and cold, I hid in the silhouette of an old gnarled tree. I stood in utter silence, rarely letting out a puff of air out of my foul smelling mouth. Droplets of water drip onto the soft muddy earth, each one making a small puddle of its own. I messed it up. I had my fair opportunity to prove her how much I loved her. Yet, took away my one and only happiness.

I felt a sharp pain on the right side of my hips. I craned my neck to stare down at the waterfall of blood rapidly gushing out of a massive wound which appeared out of nowhere. Slowly I tried to get up but quickly realized how futile it was when I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out. A sharp pain lanced through my head and blood red spots flashed in front of my eyes, it felt like my whole body had been beaten and every movement caused some muscle or bone to ache. Regardless, I needed to get out of here...away from that thing.

Wincing in pain I started to grab the branch above and tried to pull myself way. I was careful to not look at the thing which I knew was directly above me. But there was one second, one second I just happened to look up, and I saw the body of someone I knew and it started recklessly crawling downwards. I hissed in pain as the creatures swivelled around...and looked at me with its everlasting green eyes.

My name is Aiden Jones, and this is England, 1698. I released a horrifying monster inside my future wife. An action which cannot be retrieved. I could feel my heart beating against my ribcage, slowing every second. Realization dawned on me, I was going to die. I tried to move my chest, tried to suck in air, but none worked. My heart stopped. My mind gave one final sigh. Then I felt nothing. Nothing at all. Darkness. Rosabella, I am truly sorry. I was not meant to release my anger upon you. I will forever love you, and to be Haunted by Your Love.