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| Click on any of the links below to read my featured short fiction. Love & Obsession - A story about love and the bounds it will take to fulfill its needs. Michael & the Fried Chicken - A story about a chef out to get revenge! --------------------------------------- Love & Obsession By: Janis A. Dizon "You made him die, didn't you?" The woman asked, lacking surprise. The man, reading his book, didn't look up as the accusation was made. Dressed in his everyday tunic and his beard looking abnormally clean, the man was severely calm as the question was posed. The woman knowing every bit of her husband's ways was unchallenged by the silent dismissal. She went to her room and fetched the large opaque book that contained the verses she needed to confirm what she already knew. She drew the necessary symbols and signs on a piece of cotton paper, sat down cross-legged, body covered in black fabric then took off the amulet dangling on her neck. She proceeded to place the amulet over the paper with her hands like a pendulum and resumed chanting the verses. Slowly the amulet began to swing back and forth, up and down, without a pattern and finally towards the north proving her suspicion. Meanwhile, the husband, knowing exactly what his wife was doing waited then went to her room as soon as she put the amulet back on. "So, now you know." He began in a deliberate and neutral tone. "I have always known that you can see beyond human sight. When I decided he would die, I know you'd know without a doubt." "You are mine and only mine and no other soul can have you. That is why he had to die." The woman sat still without replying and once he was gone did she finally dare to move. The woman remembered everything that preceded the horrible murder. She supposes that she is to blame but with her husband's power isn't everyone else the victim and he the predator? It began as a normal encounter. Only after weeks of going to the market did he become a familiar face. She'd go almost each day as a means of escape even for only a small amount of minutes. It was only a matter of time before words were exchanged that turned to conversations. At first about normal things, "This weather should change soon." Then gradually more personal, "Is your mother feeling better? I've heard this herb should help her ailment." It was a nice and refreshing change to her rigid schedule. She learned private things. How he lived in a village near the East as a child then moved to this town as a young man of twenty. He perhaps talked to her out of loneliness, missing his family. She listened as he spoke about his father who works a hard living for the nine children and his mother who entrusts him with the family's future. There were no intentions of romance, just a need for friendship and an assurance that he wasn't alone in this town. She saw in him things that she now knows she needs from a man. This was the first crushing regret she experienced in those months of friendship. She then felt hatred for her husband so deep it gnawed at the bottom of her heart. She contemplated for some hours on a rightful action, how to even the balance. She fell asleep from deep exhaustion rooted from her insides. She dreamt of the time when she was a child of six. Her grandmother was with her. She knew at this age, as she has always known, that her grandma is a wise woman. Wiser than anyone she's ever known. On this day, her grandma visited her specially. They were going on an outing without her brothers and sisters. She felt very important. They went to the ocean side. She smelled the sand, felt the wind on her skin, and heard the beat of the waves. "My lovely granddaughter, I will show you something about yourself. You already know in your heart that you hold a power so strong. I know that in your young mind you do not understand all of this but when the time comes you will remember everything I am telling you right now." She was listening to her grandmother intently knowing that the things coming out of her mouth was of importance but her little mind could not grasp it all. She wanted to reach out and touch the words her grandma was speaking. "I want you to feel everything around you. Close your eyes, little one. Listen to my voice, hear the waves, feel the air. Feel every element." She did as her grandma said and felt like she was floating and being held by a strong force so she wouldn't fall. She felt the force pressuring around her not enough to hurt but enough for her to know it was there. "Open your eyes, little one." What she experienced before her was utter amazement. She was water. Just as water merges and changes to suit its need, she was able to do as well. She was the water molecule and she became a component of whatever she touched. She was the foam in the waves. She was moisture in the air. She was the ocean itself. It was both magical and a little scary. She knew in her small mind that she possessed something so powerful she must not forget about it. The next day, her grandma was gone. She knew the moment it happened. One second she was there, the next second no more. When her usually poised and proud mother confirmed her grandma's passing by openly weeping, she screamed as if in pain. A long and piercing scream that put a hole in her heart. She forgot everything she learned the day before. That was when the woman remembered everything. She woke up and knew instantly what to do. One year before, she made an attempt to leave her husband. Without notice, she left, no belongings in tow just a need to get away from the knowledge of what her husband is. She was cleaning innocently just before. She touched an object that her husband owns and uses regularly. All of a sudden, there was a flash that almost threw her to the floor. She saw suffering. Many wars where raping of women is used as common ammunition. Children dying from unknown diseases no one can cure. Grown men, young men taken from their homes, tortured and turned into slaves. In another flash, she saw her husband amidst all the suffering along the company of other men. They were all full of power and exercising it as they deemed necessary. In that moment, she knew exactly who and what her husband is. He was part of a group that controlled the suffering in this world. Making sure that evil flourished. This knowledge terrified her. She wanted to get away from him quickly. As she was getting farther from her husband's home her breathing became labored and as the distance lengthened she felt as if her breath was being blocked. She reasoned it was from anxiety due to the terrible things she saw. She ended up on the other side of the country. Suddenly, she felt wrong, she was gasping for breath. She felt a choking in her throat, her mind swirling and jumbled. She finally realized that it was impossible to be far away from her husband. He made it so that if she left him, she will not live. She was under a spell and had no choice but to go back. She immediately became regretful of the marriage to him a year earlier. She recalls that it was part loyalty to her family. When they told her it was their wish for her to marry him she couldn't refuse. She falsely believed that she would fall in love with him as time went on. It wasn't as if she saw anything bad in him. In fact, she didn't really know him. He never came close enough but she trusted her family completely. Being that this was the custom, his aloof manner never occurred to her as odd. The only gesture he openly allowed himself before she moved to his home was a smile across the yard on the day of their marriage arrangement. She believed in love after all. That belief was the reason she married this man without knowing exactly who he was when she could've easily found out everything about him. But she liked the mystery. And the idea of being on her own, to begin a new life just for her and a man that obviously desired her, intrigued her so. Then, they were married. She concluded that he charmed his way into her family making them believe he was a good and perfect man meant for her. Her whole family is blessed with talents but she is the only one that is blessed with the gift of sight. Now, she of course knows the real reason behind his supposed shyness. Perhaps this was why her husband chose her. Maybe he did love her in his own grotesque way. Love or not, she knew for a fact that her husband was the face of evil. She summoned back the feelings and knowledge from that important day with her grandmother. Everything came flooding in her mind and body like gushing water pouring down one’s face. There is no fear in her, she realized. She knows she is about to do something she must never reverse. The thought of stopping her husband from his rampage sooths her. She sat down very still and closed her eyes. She felt everything around her. She began to feel the pressure surrounding her. Then, the floating feeling like she was being held above by a strong force. She opened her eyes and for the second time in her life she was again the water element, the same as it was on that essential day when she was a little girl of six. It was a feeling to behold, pure amazement and no hint of fear. When her husband came home, he could not find her. He was not worried for he knew that she'd come back else she'd choke to death. After days and days of waiting he finally became afraid. With his wife gone and so many strange things happening to him, his days were difficult. From the scalding of his tongue after a sip of his tea when he's made sure that the tea was cool. To the muddy puddles that seems to always be around whenever he took a step outside. And the humidity in his home was unbearable. This strange list of occurrences went on and on. Some days would be normal but other days, the bizarre incidents harassed and tormented him. Most of all, he missed his wife. He did love her. He wouldn't have chosen her if that wasn't so. He couldn't help who he was. He only wished that she could've understood him and even accepted his fate in life. There were times at night where he had to shake off the need to weep for her. He could not understand how she managed to come out of the spell. How could she have victoriously gotten rid of it and live normally? He was perplexed. The strange things happening were very inhibiting. It bothered him enough that it kept him from fulfilling his duties with the group. As it turns out, because he was the most powerful of all the men, the work they do no longer has the same effect as it once had. Earth has become a better place. The woman knew this even if the rest of the world didn't see the difference. For this, the burden of her sacrifice didn't feel too heavy. The woman did accept the fate that life both gave them. She could not be apart from him even with the magnificent power she holds. There is no way to undo his curse. This is how the man and woman would be forever. Or until the man dies in which she would finally be released. Whichever one comes first. Back to Top |
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