Here's a short story that I wrote not too long ago. I drew the inspiration from a picture of a rose (Not sure how to include pic on this site). Hope you enjoy it!




The glow of twilight ebbed away as the night's moon raised high in the sky and the lights from the city obscured any vision of the stars. It was a calm evening, for once.

Walking hand in hand, she turned to him and, with a slightly puzzled look on her face, asked, "Where are we going this time?"
His pace remained constant, unchanged, unfaltering. For a moment, he remained silent, then, "We're going somewhere very special."
"Tom," she laughed, "you better not be taking me that crazy make-out spot. You know how I don't like doing that stuff in public!" They had only been dating for a week before Tom began making his advances on her. They had been friends for several years, meeting through work - he was a small-time lawyer, she was his secretary. It was only 3 months before Tom had asked her to marry him.
The streets were empty now. The wind calm but, soothing. Tom hurried his pace a little, as if in a hurry to get to their destination. With each step he took, his eyes scanned the horizon from side to side, as if searching for something.

"Is everything okay, Tom?"
"As long as we're together, Serina, I have everything I could ever want."
She believed him. He was the only man that had ever really loved her.

As they walked, they reminisced of the many fun times they'd shared together over the years. Serina's laughter filled the night air like the song of a bird, their hands never loosening their grip on the other.

"We're almost there, my love," Tom said. "Look. Up there on the hill. Do you remember that tree?" He pointed to a lone tree upon the crest of a hill. The one that they stood under, 3years ago, when he dropped to one knee and proposed to her.
"How could I ever forget it, Tom," she replied. That's where we pledged our lives to each other." She smiled as the memories flooded her mind.

Within minutes, they stood, once again, in the very spot when their memories were born.
"We're here, my love," Tom said as he turned to her, taking her other hand in his and holding it tightly. He stood there silently, staring into her eyes, as if waiting for something.
Serina looked at him in wonderment. "I love you so much, Tom."
"I love you too, Serina"

As they stood face to face, Tom's grip on her hand faltered, loosened then let go completely. Serina looked at him, once again, with puzzlement in her eyes. "Tom?"
"Yes, Serina"
"Will you love me forever?"
"My love for you is everlasting! From this world, to the next, I will always love you!"
As his words ended, a flash of light appeared between them. A loud CRACK broke through the silence of the night. The smile on her face turned to one of sadness.
"Together forever," she said as her body trembled.
"Together forever," Tom echoed.
Their eyes met once more and, as if they both knew, they looked between them where the light had come from. In her hand, she held a revolver. They locked gazes again and she smiled.
As Serina's body began to lose the strength to hold her upright, Tom gently laid her on the ground.
"As long as we're together, my love, I have everything that I need."
In Serina's last moments, her memories of life with Tom flooded through her. Memories of the love that they shared, the laughs and tears they brought to one another. And then the pain came. Pain from the memory of Tom's death. He had always been sick - his days were numbered. She knew that when she fell in love with him. It was Cancer that took him away from her, 1 year ago on this very day. She could no longer live without him.

Her life blood flowed steadily from her body and, with her last breath, she whispered to Tom once more, "I do this for you, Tom. Together forever. I love you!"

* * *

The night was silent once more. A silent breeze from below crested the top of the hill carrying with it, a single rose. The rose fluttered through the air majestically. The moonlight glinting off each petal. As if drawn to the tragic scene, came to rest in the open hand of the fallen girl.

"Together forever....." The words echoed in the wind.....




Come forth! Lone rose, to lye upon mine breast.
Within, doth hold but a single breath.
The love we bind in days of yore
Shan't be for naught
So Come forth, Lone Rose,
To lie upon mine breast.
Within, doth hold but a single breath


©2010
~Tyler B