2

My next memory is of waking up in a field, with the police standing around me. I nearly panicked at first, thinking they had come to arrest me, but they were extremely kind and respectful. They said that they were glad to have found me, and that they would capture my abductors as soon as possible. When I talked about what had happened to me, I was told that my memories were confused by the drugs I had been forced to take. They took a few statements from me, and then let me go. It was the oddest experience. I told them about the man I’d killed, about the children I’d run over, and they just nodded and moved onto the next subject.

My life continued in much the same way it had before from that day. I’d even say that it began to improve after that day. I got a better job, married a beautiful woman, moved into a nice house, and even had children. Eight years passed. Eight years of mundane, joyful peace. The only reminder I ever had in all that time of that day was the rare nightmare.

 Then came my wife and I’s fourth anniversary. We’d come back late, long after the babysitter had put our kids to sleep. I don’t know if there had been signs that something was wrong. Perhaps I couldn’t comprehend the thought that anything could go wrong that night. We were in the bedroom, and I was kissing my wife’s neck, when I heard her speaking in a voice that I hadn’t heard in eight years. “Yes, that’s good, slave.”

I pulled away, and saw that the woman I was with wasn’t my wife. Where she should have been was the girl from eight years ago, looking exactly the same as she had back then. Without the clothes she’d worn then, I could see that parts of her body were made of wood, which somehow melded with her flesh perfectly. Later, I would focus more on that oddity, but at that moment I only had one thought on my mind. “Where’s my wife?”

“Her? Who cares about that woman? More importantly….” She balled her hand into a fist and struck me on the cheek. The punch was stronger than anything someone Her size should have been able to pull off; it was enough to knock me off the bed. “I don’t remember saying you were allowed to stop.”

My head was spinning from the punch, but when I got my thoughts back together, I asked again. She vaulted off the bed so She could stand over me before answering. “While you were taking me out for that lovely dinner, she murdered her children. And then, when she realized what she’d done, the built made her kill herself. A very pathetic end.”

Waves of terror came over me as I looked into Her hellish eyes. She got onto Her knees so she was at my level, and moved as if She was going to hit me again. Instead, She hugged me.

“Oh, I’ve missed you so much! But absence only makes the heart grow fonder. Did you miss me as much as I missed you?” I couldn’t make my mouth move to answer Her. Even if I could have, I don’t know what I’d have said. “Of course you didn’t.” She pressed Her forehead against mine. “You didn’t even miss me a little bit. Ssh, ssh, no point in lying.” She put a finger against my lips. “I can see your thoughts. I can see how little you actually cared about me.” She tightened  Her embrace around me, until it felt like She was crushing me. Then there was a blinding pain and a crack from my arms as She broke them. “How dare you.”

She let go of me, causing me to fall. I wanted to scream, but my mouth still couldn’t move. As I laid on the floor, She kicked me it the side, breaking a rib. “After everything I’ve done for you, what do you give me in return? Nothing!” She stomped Her foot on my chest, snapping more ribs. Lights flashed in my eyes and my vision spun around me, but I could still see Her manic smile through the pain. “You think you got to where you are by yourself? Don’t make me laugh! I got you the job, I got you the girl, I got everything good in your life for you! If not for me, you would still be making sandwiches in a grocery store for pennies!” She grabbed me by the throat, and pulled me up with both hands. “You are worthless without me. You should worship me simply because I deemed to notice someone as pathetic as you. Instead, you don’t care for me at all.”

She let go of me again, causing another jolt of pain when I hit the floor. That was followed by a different kind of pain as my broken bones moved themselves back into place. She laid down next to me and cradled my head in Her arm. “But I forgive you. I should have known your heart would be too weak to remain faithful. Don’t worry. I’ll teach you about loyalty, and gratitude, and love. Because you are mine.”