Even Forever Must End.
A smile stretched across my face as the morning sun lit up the room. The purity of morning was one of the small things I love in life.
I heard a groan beside me and shifted my head to see William desperately trying to push a pillow over his face.
I laughed and he shot me a glare.
It had been ten years since we were reunited in the flower shop. And we had gotten married in Hawaii three years after. I had never been more happy and for once, my life felt complete.
A little while after I chose immortality, I became miserable. It was the worst decision I had ever made. The loneliness had swarmed around me and my life no longer felt worth living.
But now that I have William, I'm not lonely anymore. Having him by my side makes me feel normal again. Like I was actually human, falling in love and taking risks.
But there were still the odd days where the aspect of forever would scare us, and we'd have to keep ourselves busy to save us from going insane.
I pulled the duvet off my legs and climbed out of bed, feeling my limbs bend and creak as I stretched.
I quickly got changed and made my way to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea.
William and I still lived in apartments. We moved every three years, and so didn't see the point in owning a house. It meant we always lived in a small place, but it was cosy and I liked it.
Just then, William walked out of the bedroom dressed in casual clothes with unkempt hair.
I smiled at the way it stuck out in all directions, no matter how hard he tried to flatten it.
"You want some tea?" I asked him, pulling out a cup for myself.
"No, I'm alright." He replied. "I've got to head out now anyway."
"But you're not working today." I answered confused.
"Yeah I know. I got extra errands to run." He explained half heartedly. "See you later?"
I sighed with a nod and he smiled before grabbing an apple and heading out the door.
This had been happening a lot lately. He would work hard all week and then disappear during the weekends. I hardly ever saw him anymore.
We were close, and up until a few weeks ago, we were stronger than ever. But now we almost seem to be drifting apart.
I could tell he was keeping something from me, but I couldn't work out what. And the secrecy was killing me.
I decided to ignore it and ask him about it later. Today, I had to plan the next country for us to visit.
~
That night, William arrived home later than usual. I had been reading my book when he had walked in looking tired and defeated. He made his way over to the sofa and collapsed into it, letting his shoulders hunch forward and his head rest in his hands.
"How was your day?" He asked.
"Alright." I replied. "It's almost time for us to leave again. How does Australia sound to you?"
He sniggered slightly. "Aren't you afraid of the snakes?"
I smiled and shook my head. "I'm not exactly a little girl anymore."
We both laughed dryly until it died down to an awkward silence.
He turned and looked at me seriously. "Do you believe in recarnation?" He asked.
I stared at him in shock. "In case you forgot, I can't exactly die."
He shook his head. "No that's not what I mean. I mean for others, in general. Do you think there's such thing as another life where you are destined to fall in love with the same person every time, just in different ways."
I was about to reply 'no' but I stopped myself to seriously consider the question. "I don't know" I replied honestly. "I haven't really thought about it. I guess I do, but it still seems so unrealistic. So uncertain. What about you."
"I do." he answered without thought. "I believe in fate, and that it controls everything that happens. I believe that when you die, it's as if you're sleeping. Just dreaming and floating until you get recarnated. And then you come back to earth as a different person with a different life, but that you will always fall in love with the same person."
I let his word sink in. That's exactly what I always believed. Recarnation was the only thing that didn't make death seem like the end. That helped me believe that hope is always there, even after you die.
"That's what I think too." I replied.
"What if we could die." He asked. There was something sparking in his eyes. An emotion dancing in his pupils. But I couldn't work out what it meant. Couldn't interpret what it was saying.
"We can't." I said bluntly.
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but what if we could. What if we got to go back and make the choice again."
"Then I would choose to die. My fear of death is not as great as my fear of forever. I would prefer to face death than be immortal." I was looking at the idea like an opportunity, and I had to remind myself not to wish for things that cannot happen.
"Me too." he answered.
"Anyway," I sighed, changing the subject. "What did you do today?"
"Nothing much." He replied, instantly becoming guarded. He grabbed a magazine off the coffee table to make himself look bored of the conversation. But I saw straight through his act.
"Why won't you tell me?" I exclaimed. "Why don't you trust me?"
He stared blankly at the page before sighing. He shut the page and threw the magazine on the floor.
"I do trust you." he said sincerely. "I'm just working on something that has to remain a secret. I promise I will tell you soon, but only when the time is right."
It just nodded and pasted a small smile onto my face.
"Okay." I said, not wanting to argue. I placed my hand over my mouth and faked a convincing enough yawn. "I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to head to bed."
William pick up the magazine once more. "Okay. Sweet dreams." He said, without even looking up.
I stood and stared at him in thought for a moment before going and getting ready for bed.
And as I snuggled down under the duvet, I thought to myself how long I had waited to be in this relationship. How hard I had looked to find the love of my life, and how happy I had been when I found him.
It was the kind of situation that was suppose to make your love grow stronger. So why did I feel like it was weakening instead?
I woke up with a frown on my face. William had already snuck out and was no where to be seen. I had heard the door slam shut as he left at four o'clock this morning, after I had been awoken by banging and crashing in the kitchen. I could feel the hurt in my heart like a sharp pain to my chest. Like all of a sudden, I knew everything, yet nothing about my husband.
I considered staying in bed, but then decided that would just be a waste of a beautiful day.
And so instead, I got up and read my book on the balcony for an hour, before starting to bake some vanilla cupcakes.
~
It was late afternoon when William came barging through the front door.
I had just taken a cake out the oven and placed it beside the cupcakes and biscuits, so the room smelt like a bakery in the morning.
He was holding a bottle in his hands and was looking excited.
"Violet!" He exclaimed. "I need to talk to you."
I stood up from the dining table and let myself collapse into the couch. William took a seat next to me.
"Do you remember I told you I would explain want I was working on when the time was right?" I nodded and he continued. "Well that's because I've been searching for this and I didn't want to tell you about it until I found it."
He held up his hand that was clutching a small bottle filled with a murky liquid.
"What is it?" I asked, slightly confused.
"It's an antidote." He explained smiling with both excitement and sadness.
"An antidote for what?" I replied.
"I know this is sudden, but hear me out." He started, taking a deep breath. "This will reverse our immortality. We drink half the bottle each, and we will die. Become normal again. Go to the afterlife and see our families like everyone else. A few weeks ago, you told me you wished we weren't immortal. I remember hearing something about reversing it and so started searching for more information. That's why I've been so busy lately. And I finally found it. There's a witch living here in Washington who makes the stuff. Made of spells and things. She told me that immortality is a curse, but that it can be reversed. This is it. This can free us."
He held the bottle up again as proof with a proud smile on his face. But something about it seemed fake.
I unnecessarily swallowed, feeling nervous all of a sudden.
"You mean, we drinks that, and we die." I asked, searching for something to tell me I wasn't going crazy.
He nodded enthusiastically. "This is what we've always wanted, Violet. It's finally possible."
I was skeptical. For so long, I've learnt to accept forever, and suddenly, the opportunity of death was hitting me like a truck. "I... I need time to think about this."
The smile dropped from his face and he turned his face away from mine.
"What is it?" I asked.
"The spells in this antidote can only last for so long, and it only works during a full moon."
I tried to piece together what he was telling me, but I couldn't quite pull my thoughts together and understand.
But then it hit me.
"It has to be done to tonight." I whispered. William nodded sadly.
"I don't know William. This is happening too fast."
William reached forward and grabbed my hands, looking directly into my eyes.
"Violet. I know you're scared but you have to trust me. Fate pulled us together, and it will do so again in another life. This is our ticket to freedom. Lets not waste it."
I wasn't ready. I knew in my heart I wasn't ready for death. But William was right. This might be our only chance and I wasn't prepared to waste it. And I knew that if I did, I would regret it forever.
"Okay." I whispered. "I'll do it."
A moment of sadness crossed his face, but he quickly recovered.
He ran over to the kitchen cupboard and grabbed out two glasses. Pulling the bottle into his hand, he screwed the lid off and roughly poured the liquid into the glasses.
He threw the bottle in the bin and brought the glasses over to the middle of the room, handing me one.
He leant forward and lightly kissed me on the check. A goodbye kiss, full of hope that we would meet again.
"On three?" He asked. I nodded.
I heard him take a deep breath of air. "One..." He whispered.
This was it. All I had been wishing for.
"Two..."
No regrets. Everyone must die.
"Three."
I pulled the glass to my lips and let the flavourless liquid slip down my throat.
I don't know what I was expecting. Perhaps I thought I would start choking like the people in movies and fall to my knees. But I felt fine. I felt the same.
I watched as William slammed his cup on the coffee table. It was empty and his eyes had gone watery.
"What's wrong?" I asked
"I lied to you." He said, just as the tear fell and ran down his cheek.
"What? What do you mean?" I asked panicking.
"I told you that immortality is a curse that can be reversed. It's not. Reversing immortality is the curse." He said looking defeated.
"William. Stop it." I replied, fear swirling in the pit of my stomach. "You're freaking me out."
He ignored me and continued. "I hated watching you cry. Crying over being immortal. I knew you wanted to be human again, and I love you so much, I would do anything to make you happy." He stopped and took a deep breath, and it was then that I noticed his hands shaking uncontrollably by his sides. "You will die and go to the after life. I will die too, but I will not be coming with you."
I felt my heart drop to my stomach and I started to feel light headed.
"For you to become mortal, I must kill my soul."
"No!" I whispered. "No you can't."
"It's too late." He whispered.
"No." I shouted. "You promised me we would be together. You promised me you would be there for me!" Hot tears streamed down my face as I beat my fists against his chest. "What happened to fate?" My voice had quietened to a whisper. I felt broken. I felt betrayed. I felt... Afraid.
"A new soul will be born. Your knew destined love. You won't remember me." He said softly.
"I don't want anyone else. I want you." I cried. The room was starting to spin and I could no longer focus on his face. "I can't do this alone. I need you. I love you."
"I'm so sorry Violet. You'll be happy now."
I started swaying, and I felt arms wrap around me to keep me from falling.
This was it. I had no control. I was going to die and William was going to be gone. Forever. I would never see him again.
My vision started spotting with black and my heart had slowed to the point where I felt paralysed.
And as I fell into his chest with darkness consuming me I faintly heard him whisper, "Goodbye Violet. I will always love you."
Third person POV
William and Violet's bodies were found the next morning by the hotel maid. She had come to clean the room when she saw them lying on the lounge floor, holding hands and hugging in a half embrace. They almost looked purposely placed.
Gracie, the maid, had become quite close with the couple. She knew how close they were and how much they loved each, and her heart almost broke when she saw the bottle in the bin.
Their death was recorded as suicide. But nobody knew what had really happened. Nobody understood the true risks taken when they died.
Nobody knew that Violet had joined the afterlife with no remembrance of ever having a husband.
And as Gracie looked upon the lovers with sorrow in her heart, she decided right then and there that they would be buried on a hill with trees planted by their head stones. That way when they grew, they could overlook the landscape in peace.
That way, they could be forever together.