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Knock knock.
The sound of the rain outside is interrupted by a gentle knock on the mansion's door. Exactly what I was waiting for. Excitedly, I get up, indulge myself in Victor's smile briefly and then walk towards the door.
Knock knock.
"It's cold out here, Vincent!"
A familiar voice can be heard on the other side. Without waiting any longer, I open the door. I'd hate for her to catch a cold because of me. What kind of gentleman would I be?
"Vincent!"
As soon as the door is opened, the woman smiles at me. The light of her golden eyes is reassuring, warm, a nice contrast to the temperature of that day. With those lights of hers, she asks my permission for a hug. I, of course, agree. And soon our bodies are reunited. I hold her against my chest. And she holds me.
As if we've been separated for several years.
Sadly, the hug comes to an end. I hold back my selfish wish. It would be inappropriate to ask for it to last longer. Hugs can easily become awkward.
Esfir is her name. An elegant woman, with a deadly stare. I guard her secrets and she guards mine. I truly enjoy her company and today she's here to relax with me and Victor after a long day at work.
I hold her hand. She holds mine. Delicate fingers caress mine. And I don't feel lonely anymore.
I lead her to where Victor was and let go of her. So she can go and greet him as well.
We're reunited.
"My dear Esfir, what would you like to drink?" Victor asks politely.
"Ah, you know my tastes, Victor! A blue lagoon, please. It's my favorite."
"And for my dear Vincent, I suppose the usual, yes?"
Of course, a glass of martini.
Victor is very good at making cocktails. I'll leave it to him while I take a seat at the bar counter. Esfir sits next to me.
I can't help but looking at her, she looks at me. At the same time we also look at Victor. Ah, her smile distracted me.
"Here they are! A blue lagoon for our beautiful lady," a wink. "and a martini for our adorable Vincent."
I'm not adorable, is what I'd say. But my attention was on the drink Victor gave me. Red like blood and a spherical object, an eye of the color of the sun, staring at me, judging me.
Can't they see it? The eye in my drink? They act normally, as if it's not unusual.
"Is there something wrong with it, my dear?"
Victor asks. "It's exactly how you love it, but if you want me to make something else for you, I'll do it."
It's not necessary.
The cold stare of the eye agrees with me.
It would be pointless.
...
I hesitate to drink. But Victor and Esfir decide to drink to something specific. Our future together. With a smile, I agree.
Cheers.
But the moment when my glass touched theirs, it cracks and immediately breaks.
Fragments of glass are spread all over the floor. Dismembered, bleeding, the glass of martini is no more. What didn't change is the yellow eye staring at me. Where's the head? Where's the other eye? Where's the body?
Esfir holds my hand.
"It's ok, it happens! I'll go get something to clean this. Wait for me, Vincent!"
And she leaves.
"Ah, perhaps I should help her. She doesn't even know where to look for, right?"
And he leaves.
I'm alone with the eye and the corpse of the glass. How nice of them to take care of it for me. I shall thank them properly when they return.
That's what I think.
But soon I realize they're not coming back. They left me behind. As I take a step to move, sudden darkness surrounds me.
I feel terribly anxious. As if something horrible is going to happen. A scream. Not mine. It echoes through the void.
I don't know where to go. I don't know what to do. I can't even control my body. My arms. My claws. What am I touching? What am I hitting?
The smell of blood is in the air.
Accompanied by a sweet melody played by a nearby piano. Who's playing it? I open my mouth to call out to them, to ask for help. But they don't hear me. In the darkness, surrounded by the scent of blood and a sweet melody, someone is playing the piano.
"Esfir—" Her name caresses my lips, invisible arms are wrapped around my body. It's her. I recognize her gentle touch. She's trying to comfort me, as always. Right?
...
She doesn't speak. And the scent of blood is stronger than before. Her weight increases all of a sudden. And I can feel something falling down, shattering like a glass of martini touching the ground.
Then the lights of a car blind me.
_______________
Knock knock.
I wake up, sweating, in the dark of my room. Darkness that surrounds the whole mansion, interrupted simply by little, weak lights here and there. Next to me, Victor is peacefully sleeping. Mouth open, lips curved into a wide smile. Bless him, his dreams at least aren't nightmares.
I rub my face as to convince myself that it was just another bad dream like many others I've had. It's not the first time it happens, after all.
I get up, carefully. I don't want to wake Victor. Not when he's sleeping like that. I need to drink something. Distract myself. Or I'd not be able to fall asleep again.
Knock knock.
Oh. Then I didn't imagine that. Someone is knocking on the door. Who could it be? The mansion is isolated in the suburbs. And it's the middle of the night.
Perhaps someone is lost. Someone who will probably meet my friends soon.
Knock knock.
They must be desperate.
I approach the door slowly, but then I hear a voice coming from the other side.
"It's cold out here, Vincent!"
A familiar voice. Esfir's. Instinctively, my legs move faster and faster. Running until I find myself in front of the door.
She's here! She's here!
I think excitedly. If I had a heart, it would be beating fast.
Without hesitation, hopeful, I open the door.
But what I find is not the dear Esfir I knew and loved. What I find is a cruel abomination. A mass of organs and limbs clearly dislocated, as if one tried to attach them in a rush. Her guts are coming out from her stomach which is wide open. In that dark being of blood and flesh, what didn't change was one single golden eye left, shining like the brightest of the lights. It stares at me, she doesn't move.
I don't scream, yet, panicking, I shut the door and lock it.
I take few steps back. But the smell that came from that walking corpse didn't vanish.
I turn around. She's right there, few meters away from me. With her eye focused on me, her lips slightly parted as if she whispered words full of hatred towards me. She doesn't breathe. She doesn't blink. She just judges me silently, unable to punish me for my sin.
I walk away, I run away from her. But she always finds me.
In the hall, she's in the middle of it.
In the storage, she's behind the forniture.
In the basement, she's between the husks.
In the piano room, she stands. The woman who would have loved to play a song, simply focus on me.
At the bar counter, she stares at me, instead of enjoying her favorite drink.
I look left. She's there.
I look right. She's there.
She's the right to take her revenge on me. Yet, she does nothing but staring. Staring. Staring.
She's always next to me. Wherever I go, she's with me. She'll never leave me alone.
She must hate me.
Giving up, I feel my knees failing me. In the bathroom I sit. Looking at her is painful, but this is the least I can do after the atrocity I've committed.
She was beautiful. And I've...
"I'm sorry."
I whisper, my voice shaking.
"I'm sorry."
I repeat, with more conviction.
"I'm sorry!"
I exclaim.
"I'm sorry!!"
I yell. And this goes on for several minutes that feel like hours.
Unavoidably, my voice ends up waking up the redhead who slept next to me. He too came to the bathroom, for me. I don't immediately notice the concern on his face, since I can't stop staring at my dear Esfir. She's here, Victor. Look at her. She's here with us. Again, she's back.
I try to pronounce those words, but it's hard.
Thankfully, Victor manages to understand me. He caresses me to comfort me and, after pulling me into a warm embrace, he whispers.
"Vincent, my dear, nobody else is here with us."