Rootless Tree

Part 1

"No." the words almost rolled too smoothly off her lips. So sure, so assertive, so...final. It was too easy for her to deny him the very love he has so long ached for. All the anticipation of the moments leading up to this one came crashing down like a cataclysm of reality. He looked at her both hopeless and betrayed. The pain was so unkind it ripped his heart into a thousand pieces, each one a tragic death of its own. She was cold to him, and he began hating her for it. He felt it rise slowly from the depths, burning within. A fire she lit but now would not claim nor help control. One hand would find her throat again, taking no time to enjoy the areas leading up to it as he did before, the other hand stood uncertain. His thumb traced along her neck, finding the constricting muscles that harbored the windpipe, tightening ever so slightly as the muscles contracted under his touch; an action so loving yet so threatening. Still…she refused to look at him, as if too proud, or too cruel to give him the slightest glance of comfort. He forced her hues to his and they were as empty and as distant as they had been absent; mirroring his own. "No." She cursed him again with those unkind words. "Amar I could never love y...”.

He wouldn't give her the last words, he refused. While one hand held her tightly, the other now began easing his dagger into her waist so gracefully. It happened all at once, as if time itself had stopped the moment the blade left its home, helping him to carry out his poisonous act of jealousy. His movements were so perfectly orchestrated and smooth that she did not even have a chance to notice the sudden shift of his muscles to accommodate his action. Those hated words would never cross her lips. There was no hesitation from him, not a second thought. If she refused to love him, then she would not love anyone. Another would not be permitted to experience the love she stored inside that hollow pit of hers he called a heart, the passion that should have been his; only his. No other being would ever have the opportunity to know her as intimately as he did. She froze as her breath became short, barely passing through her paling lips and her eyes glazed slowly, the pupils widening; paralyzed with no fight or scream in her. He could almost hear her lungs begging to have air forced back into them, collapsing as they starved for life. He slowly pulled his blade away; unsympathetic and without remorse.

Her slender, now trembling digits felt the warm liquid escaping the small hole of her gown as the silky cloth deepened into her flesh as she slipped her hand down toward where the blade had penetrated her, her life essence slipping through her very own fingers. She lifted them as they shook uncontrollably, her lips parting to gasp but not even the tiniest puff of air managed to exit. She looked down shakily at the vibrant red that was now staining her white gloves. The coppery scent overpowered everything else and the world began to spin. Her brain tried to catch up, tried to make sense but it could not. With each flutter of her eyelids, she felt herself slipping further away. Amar's breath echoing within the confines of her thoughts. She wanted to scream out, wanted to say something, do anything to stop herself from going numb and feeling so distant from the world she loved. Unable to do anything else, she forced her heavy head to Amar as her hues filled with a combination of realization and disbelief. A quiet whimper pushed into the air as it crawled out from her throat, it forming into a light mist as the temperature of the night air decreased.

Amar would deny her the same comfort he had just moments ago begged of her. His gaze was emotionless now, void of any sign of regret.  With a soft and casual movement he pushed her back, holding tightly to the silk ribbon that adorned her hair. It pulled free from her curls slowly, causing them to bounce in almost slow motion and release her scent for a last time into his nostrils for a final goodbye. As her brain began to misfire, shutting down all functions and her heart ceased to beat, his doll fell over the edge of the stoned balcony to the merciless sea below. He watched slightly amused at how at first she seemed to glide so effortlessly and almost beautifully to her final resting place below, her gown flowing like wings to guide her. But the rocks would find her within mere seconds and the finality of her death became as grim as the reason she was no longer amongst the living.

The sea was as unwelcoming as the darkness that surrounded her lifeless body. He leaned over watching as the ocean engulfed her, the water like greedy hands of the poor fighting for table scraps, it pulled her down and washed her away. He nodded toward the water in satisfaction and almost as to thank it for disposing of his hidden sins. She was now free from his sight and his mind. Amar cleaned his blade and just as quickly as he removed it he slid it back into its sheath tucked securely in his sleeve. He tugged on his shirt, smoothing the wrinkles out. He stood straight and proper, a final shake of his head to remove the images of her face as she went over. His hand came to rest on the ledge in the same place hers had been. He could almost still feel the indentations of where her grip rested. He curled his fingers neatly around the banister as his eyes closed. For a moment he felt as if he was intertwined with her touch, but soon it faded as well.  He broke away with a calm exhale. Come morning he would forget he ever loved her...

TO BE CONTINUED...