Forgotten Tombs

"Time"- Chapter One

The door jingled as it was opened. A woman entered, her heals clacking behind her. The look on her face was dark and determined, the fire in her eyes was bright. The man at the register sighed softly, he already knew the scenario that was bound to happen. The woman crossed her arms and stared the man down. His body deflated as he made a lazy gesture to the back of the shop, mumbling a soft greeting to the woman as she stormed past him and into the back of the small café.

The woman marched until she reached the small door at the end of the hall, opening it and barging in. "How dare you!" she belowed, "how dare you take what is not yours!".

Inside the room sat a man, who's heart stood frozen inside his body. His eyes were darker than the night sky. His skin paler than the moon light. He stood silent and stared at her as if she were nothing but a wall.

The woman slammed the door shut behind her, a seething anger in her eyes. "You said that she was going to be with me! You said that I could have her back! You said that she was going to be mine again! So how dare you! How dare you take my daughter away from me!".

The woman burst into hysterics, tears streaming down her face as she continued to yell at the man.

His demeanor never changed, even as her cries and shouts progressively got louder. After the woman finished her screaming, he breathed in and spoke "I gave you a week for your goodbyes, ma'am. Your accusations are false".

"My accusations? My accusations!? You dare say that I am accusing you!? No, no! I am not accusing anything! I'm stating the truth! You lied! You lied, you took her away! You said that-". As her rambling continued, the man stood up from the seat, his body bigger than most men, towering over the woman. Her words got caught up as he cut her of, "The dead cannot be brought back to life, Ms. Wilson. They can only be brought back to bid farewell. I gave you a week, I let you have your daughter back for a week, more than many ever get. I told you specifically to value every moment with her. I told you and I warned you and I advised you to cherish the time left. Never did I tell you that she would stay. Never did I lie to you".

The woman choked on a sob as she fell to the floor. Tears cascaded her cheeks as her makeup rolled off her face. The man breathed out and put a hand on her shoulder, "Collect yourself, Amanda. Elizabeth is resting now, she said her goodbyes. She is at peace. Albeit a short one, your daughter lived a happy life. You did your best".

It took a while, but the woman's tears died down. She stood up and gave the man a defeated glare. "Damn you to the gates of Hell". She turned around and left the room swiftly, opening the door and slamming it shut in a matter of seconds.

The man let out a tired sigh, the charms around his wrist clacking as he rubbed his forehead tiredly.

As he sat back down in the seat of his desk, the door opened again and he felt himself deflate. A soft voice greeted him and he hummed in return "Rough day today, sir?".

A red headed young boy stepped into the room, half of his face covered with his hair. He gently closed the door behind him as he went over to the desk. He sheepishly crawled onto the man's lap, laying his head on the man's chest. "May I ask, sir" he started, looking at the man with curious eyes "why did you give Ms. Wilson more time than usual?".

The man looked down at the child and let out a breath, leaning back in the chair and looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know, William". The boy-William- nodded, dropping the conversation quickly.

"Don't worry," said William, "Ms. Wilson isn't mad at you. She just hurts, inside, in her heart". The man let out a light chuckle, "I know William, you don't have to worry about that. I know she hurts. They all hurt". William nodded and shyly bit his lip "Do you still hurt?".

The man sighed, a deep sound from his body. "Every day, the pain never really goes away. You just learn how to live with it". William nodded and frowned a bit, "I'm sorry. I never meant to leave you, daddy". The man nodded, looking down at the child in his lap. He brushed the hair away from his face, seeing the burnt and charred skin. "I know". As he breathed in again, the boy wasn't there any longer. "I know".