Trigger Warning: Story does not have a happy ending. This is definitely not a romance piece.
Bianca sat up in her bed looking out the window protruding from her wall.
He’s not here,
she thought to herself.
Did I do something wrong?
she sighed, slipping her panda slippers on before going to freshen up.
It was their anniversary and Zach was nowhere to be found. He hadn’t come home in weeks, yet steadily updated his social media daily, often claiming he was with his wife.
“That’s not true!” she screamed at her phone before tossing it aside.
They had been married six whole years and never had an argument between them. They were the perfect couple—well-off, well-educated, employed, young, and fit. Bianca couldn’t think of a single reason her beloved husband would avoid her.
Walking from the bathroom dripping wet, she examined herself in the mirror. The twenty-five-year- old beauty was flawless, except for a large scar on her right thigh.
Bzz… Bzzz
“He’s posted again,” she said, dashing for the discarded phone on her bed.
A text message lit up her screen, “I’ll see you tonight, my love.”
Her heart skipped a beat and her body warmed a bit.
Over the next two hours, Bianca rummaged through her clothes trying to find the perfect dress. After picking out a black lace dress that left very little to the imagination, she slipped on a pair of Louis Vuitton pumps and returned to the bathroom to fix her hair.
“I look ghastly,” she chuckled to herself before curling her cherry-brown hair into adorable ringlets. She gave her head a gentle shake, causing her curls to bounce and shift into a long, shiny cascade of spirals.
Bzz… Bzzz
It was Zach again.
“Let’s meet at the church, 7PM.”
The church?
she pondered.
Does he want to renew our vows? Maybe I should prepare something…
Looking at the clock, she realized that it was already 6:30PM and she’d need most of that time to get there on time. It would be the first time they had seen each other in nearly two months—there was no way in hell she’d show up late.
* * *
It didn’t take long for her to arrive, but she was thrown off by the vast number of people that showed up.
“Wow… He’s really outdone himself,” she whispered with a smile.
The entire length of the walkway had been lined with white tulips and pink roses, while the entryway doors had been polished to a high shine, making their mahogany wood look like they had a thick, smooth layer of ice on them. Hundreds of people were already seated and Zach stood at the front of the room with their regular clergyman.
“Bianca,” Zach called as he turned to look at her. “Come join me, my beautiful wife,” he continued, stretching his hand out towards her.
His gorgeous, blue eyes twinkled under the gold-set, crystal chandeliers. Her black stiletto heels jingled as she walked, their silver chains tapping against the floor. Bianca’s green eyes lit up when she saw her lover’s face decorated with a devious, yet satisfied smile.
“Those always were my favorite,” he said, as she took his hand and joined him at the front.
The guests looked on, wide-eyed, and a flurry of whispers filled the room. Bianca didn’t notice; she was happy Zach had returned to her. Before she knew it, they had bowed in prayer and were instructed to take a short break and reconvene at the posh end of the cemetery.
Is he…
Bianca stopped, puzzled by what was happening. Upon noticing her hesitance, Zach reached for her arm, gently caressing it, and her face, as he coaxed her.
“It’s okay. I’ve accepted that she’s still important, even if—”
Bianca pulled away. Zach had never come to terms with the death of their first child, Sabine. For him to do this meant the world to her. Once more, Bianca’s eyes glistened under the setting sun.
“Thank you,” she mumbled as her eyes filled with tears.
Taking his arm again, they made their way to Sabine’s grave, however Zach felt feverishly warm.
“Are you feeling okay?” she asked, noticing him shivering slightly.
“I’ll be fine,” his voice broke through a choked voice and silent tears.
“We don’t have to—”
“No, Bianca. We have to do this.” His voice was cold and harsh, causing her to loosen her grip on him.
As they approached the grave, Bianca saw that another slot had been dug up next to Sabine’s. Fury filled her heart as she turned to face her husband.
“What the fuck is the meaning of this? How could you… I told you that the plots adjacent to our daughter’s were for us! You promised, Zach!”
Her words cut through him like an explosion of glass.
“I know, sweetheart, but…” He grabbed her, holding her close. His shaking body felt like fire against her skin. “I’ve kept my promise. Sabine is happy you’re coming to take care of her.”
Bianca froze.
“What the hell, Zach? This isn’t a joke. She’s dead!”
The surrounding crowd looked on. They stared and talked; pointed and cried.
“You sick fucks were in on this too?!” Her voice pierced through the area, similar to that of a banshee.
“Don’t be mad, kitten. This is hard for me too.”
Zach ran his fingers through his hair and shifted his gaze towards the church. Her pale skin and green eyes were washed out by the unusually bright moonlight, but the tears streaming down her face glistened like gems. He couldn’t bear to look at her this way.
“Zach, it’s time,” the priest said, motioning towards the open grave.
“Time? Time for what?” Bianca scoffed, her gentle voice had turned into that of a roar.
The two men ignored her question and crows crooned around them as the ceremony began. Though the sun had long since melted into the horizon, it left a peculiar glow on everyone except Bianca.
Her thin figure and black dress appeared pale and weathered.
“What’s going on? Talk to me, Zach!”
The distraught husband said nothing.
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” the priest’s words carried on in the background, almost drowned out by the wind.
Bianca felt a sharp, but familiar pain course through her thigh around her scar. She fell to her knees, begging for help. Her arms and wrists became sore and soon, her flesh started to tear. Bianca felt herself being pulled towards the grave. Unable to resist, she slowly crawled forward, her limbs cracked and contorted under her own weight. Her bright green eyes welled up with tears.
“Why is this happening? I thought he loved me,” she groaned in agony.
“He does love you, mommy. He just can’t come with us.”
Horrified Bianca looked up to see Sabine standing behind her own headstone. Her shoulder-length, chestnut hair was styled just as it had been the day she died; softly curled and pinned a high ponytail.
“S-Sabine? But—”
Sabine held a finger to her lips, silencing her mother.
“If you talk the bells won’t come.”
Bianca, still being pulled forward by an unknown force stopped just inches from the opening. There, in a highly polished casket with gold trim, lay Bianca—the real Bianca—pale and unrecognizable from the layers of makeup covering the myriad of cuts and bruises on her body. She felt sick. Her stomach churned and her heart struggled to produce a beat.
“That’s not me,” she declared in a hoarse whisper. “That’s not me!”
As the casket closed, the attendees threw their pink roses and white tulips into the grave
Bianca didn’t understand. Why was Zach pulling such a sick prank? Had she not loved him enough? Had she not obeyed him enough? She glanced back at Sabine who quietly pointed at the tombstone adjacent to her own.
Bianca K. Gajón
Mother, Wife, and Tortured Soul
March 9, 1986 – December 31, 2017
Tortured soul? But…
A wave of panic washed over her as memories flooded her mind.
Sabine had been her love, her life, her light in the dark. During long weeks when Zach had to work, Sabine kept her mother from being lonely. However, on her fifth birthday, the family took a cruise to Alaska to watch the whales. Zach had gotten a business call, prompting Bianca’s anxiety and fueling her anger.
“Why do you always have to bring work with you? Don’t you give a damn about our family? Do you not love our daughter?” she asked.
Zach ignored her as he continued his phone call. In a fit of rage, Bianca took Sabine back to the ship.
As night approached Sabine saw her father coming back to the ship, still talking on his phone. She called out to him, but her young voice was drowned out by the wind. In a desperate plea to get his attention, she climbed under the railing. Unfortunately, she lost her footing on the damp surface causing her to fall overboard. Unable to swim in the frigid, rocky water, Sabine called for help but no one could hear her. Her mother was sulking in their cabin and no one else was around. For three whole minutes, Sabine held on for dear life. A passersby saw the struggling child and went to get help.As Sabine took her last breath, her mouth filled with sea water, drowning her screams and then the bells came.
It was weeks before Bianca could speak her name again, and even then, she refused to believe that her child was gone. Depression took over her life, forcing Zach to have her committed. However, with Bianca showing no signs of being a threat to herself, or others, she was released after a few weeks. Things seemed normal again; as normal as they could after losing a child. Zach worked less and the two would avoid talking about their daughter.
One evening, when Bianca was home alone, she heard bells coming from Sabine’s room. Her heart dropped as screams filled the hallways of their home. Venturing into her daughter’s room, she found herself back on the deck of the ship with Sabine floating lifeless in the water below.
“I have to save her!” Bianca screamed, pulling open the sliding door leading out to the railing. She jumped without a second thought, planning to swim her way towards her pale and blue baby.
Zach returned home the next day. He had been in the United Kingdom for business for a little over a week. Upon entering the house, he felt an unwavering chill. The pink roses in the upstairs hall had died and there were crows wandering freely throughout their home. His heart damn near stopped as the thought of someone breaking in crossed his mind. He ran upstairs and found that the door to
Sabine’s room was open and he searched the house for his missing wife.
“Bianca?” he called out.
There was no answer. He dialed her cell phone and noticed the ringer sounding from the open patio door located off of Sabine’s room. He slowly walked in, scared that his wife had been murdered. The haunting melody continued to chime from outside and stopped when her phone went to voicemail. Zach approached the edge of the patio and, to his horror, he saw his wife laying below. It was a sixty foot drop; a drop laden with jagged rocks and thick, broken tree branches.
Sickness filled his stomach, but he found the strength to call an ambulance. Bianca’s injuries and long lay in the cold were too much for the grieving mother. As they carted her away and zipped up the body bag, the church bells chimed in the distance.
Zach had known that his wife was hearing and seeing Sabine quite often. He chose to let it go because Bianca seemed happy.
“It wasn’t true,” he sobbed, looking down at his decaying wife, clad in a long black dress. “You weren’t happy at all.”
Tears streamed down his face as he walked to the edge of her grave, tossing the last pink rose onto the dirt covered coffin. Bianca, still unable to move on her own free will, could no longer feel her body. Her piercing green eyes grew dull and her skin was now shredded like the day they found her.
“Goodbye, my sweet wife.”
The ceremony ended and the church bells rang out. In that instance, Bianca, bloodied and broken, was sucked into the grave; her screams drowned out by the soundless bells of death.